


On Happiness (And Other Pesky Side Effects of Impulsive Altruism)

by Advocaat



Category: Tokyo Mew Mew
Genre: But not that slow - we have places to be, F/M, Ichigo and Kish learn an important lesson about the difference between infatuation and love, It turns out that really helps when you want a girl to like you, Kish learns how to not be a bastard, Slow Burn, post-anime canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:28:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28023195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Advocaat/pseuds/Advocaat
Summary: Kish told himself he'd leave once he saw her again. Just one look to reaffirm how doomed his love for her was, then he would return to his own planet. She'd never even know he was there.
Relationships: Momomiya Ichigo/Quiche
Comments: 22
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it's 2020 and I'm posting Tokyo Mew Mew fanfiction. I don't know if anyone's still reading fic in this fandom, but even if only one or two people see this, I hope deep in my heart that you'll enjoy it.
> 
> I took a few minor creative liberties with the ending of Tokyo Mew Mew. Nothing big, just ignoring things like the crappy sequel and Aoyama going off to England. Also, I chose to follow the anime canon rather than the manga, just as a personal preference.
> 
> Anyway, that's about it for my author chit chat. Enjoy the story.

_Time is not a great healer. It is an indifferent and perfunctory one. Sometimes it does not heal at all._ – Ivy Compton-Burnett

Far above the bustle of evening in the largest metropolitan area on Earth, with the city lights twinkling like a vast ocean below and the dark, nearly starless heavens as a backdrop to his brooding, a young man sat atop the edge of the Shinjuku Mistui Skyscraper and contemplated his hands.

He stretched them out in front of him, his fingertips flirting with the darkness. They were pale hands. Paler than hers. Paler than any human's. Hands that had seen only caves and wastes for a decade and a half. Hands that had struggled and worked every day to survive in an unforgiving world. Kish stared down at those—his—hands wryly. _Different,_ he thought. _I'm different_.

He turned his hands over and examined the backs with an apathetic downturn of his lips. Long, thin fingers, soft skin… _They could be human hands,_ he thought. Were it not for the alien paleness and strong, sharp nails, they would match hers. _I'm different, but I'm an Earthling the same as her_. _I'm a child of this planet too._

Closing his hands, Kish lifted his eyes from his lap and cast his gaze over the sparkling cityscape that lay far below his perch. It was beautiful, despite the ruin it caused to the nature around and within it. Perhaps humans would never appreciate the full scope of their own destructiveness, but he had faith now that they were capable of healing as much as poisoning. Ichigo and her friends had their work cut out for them.

Kish didn't know why he'd come back. There was no longer a reason to care about Earth now that his own planet was at last beginning to prosper. Why return to this dying, forsaken globe when on his own planet he was a hero, his friends had asked when he'd told them he wanted to return. They couldn't understand.

Kish didn't understand either. The only thing he valued on this planet was entirely out of his reach. There was no reason to linger.

But Kish was young and foolish and he simply didn't know how to say no to his heart. For all his cleverness, he was still a fool in love. After a year away, he'd realized that it didn't matter that Ichigo would never be his. He just wanted to be close to her. He wanted to see her smile and watch her do her best, the way she always did. He wanted to be the guardian of her happiness. And what an odd turnaround that was, he thought, when a year before he'd delighted in her suffering. After all, what was a human to him? Merely a parasite on this beautiful planet. Who cared if they all died? Who would miss them? Certainly not the species they'd destroyed.

A year ago, Kish's love for Ichigo had resembled that of a master for his pet. He'd wanted to claim her and adore her the way a human does a toy poodle. Well, perhaps the analogy wasn't perfect, but he'd certainly favored her among all the cute, quaint homo-sapiens and playing with her had brought him pleasure. But Kish had never been good at practicing restraint and fondness had quickly turned to obsession. Perhaps that was the problem. Perhaps he was still obsessed. He would never move on from her until he found a way to let her go.

Yes, he thought. Surely that was why he was here. He needed to let her go. He needed to be reminded one last time of how doomed his love was and then he could go home and live out the rest of his life in peace.

Kish fingered the hem of his long, high-collared tunic—a symbol of his newly elevated status—and then crumpled it in his palm. His sharp nails dug into the dark fabric but didn't puncture it. A brisk wind fluttered though his forest hair. His heart was beating fast. He had a purpose now. Excitement at seeing Ichigo again pumped in his veins. His pupils contracted in anticipation.

Right now she would be at home. Her work at the café would have ended about an hour ago. Likely, she was taking a bath or doing homework. It was the perfect time to go and check on her. He would stay out of sight, of course. There was no reason for her to know he was back. Hopefully, her obnoxious little robot wouldn't start shrieking the moment he came within fifty feet of her. But if it did… well, he could teleport. His lips turned upward in amusement. What a delightful scare that would give her, he thought with a small amount of glee.

Golden eyes glinting in the bright moonlight, Kish pushed off the edge of the roof of the skyscraper and let himself plunge in a freefall toward the glowing city below. He allowed himself to fall for the space of a few breaths, enjoying the feeling of the cold air rushing past him, before catching himself and taking off in the direction of Ichigo's suburb.

o0o

The flight wasn't a long one. Kish could just as easily have teleported, but he found himself enjoying the familiar scenery of nighttime Tokyo. There was the shopping center that Ichigo and her friends frequented on weekends and over there was the park with the colorful play structure that Tart had always looked upon with thinly veiled yearning. Everything was silent and peaceful. There were no chimera animas tearing things up and no aliens out for Mew Mew blood. Kish found himself wondering why he'd been so fixated on destroying this place. It seemed such a waste now.

His breath caught in his throat as Ichigo's house came into view. One year. Four whole Earth seasons since he'd been here last. He wondered how much had changed. He wondered if Ichigo still thought about him. Would she recognize him if she saw him? Sometimes Kish had trouble recognizing himself these days. It wasn't that he'd changed much physically—he was a little taller, a little broader, and his hair was in need of a trim, but otherwise a single year wasn't enough time to drastically transform anyone. Still, when he looked in the mirror, he had trouble reconciling the person who looked back with the person he'd always considered himself to be. He found himself having to force a smile because the solemn boy in the glass wasn't him. Those tired eyes and pursed lips surely belonged to someone else—not Kish, the charming and energetic trickster. He had promised years ago that he would never show such a face to anyone ever again. He wasn't a weak little kid. He was strong. He was crafty. He was indomitable.

Kish shook his head and approached the house cautiously. The light was on in Ichigo's bedroom window. He could see her parents watching a gameshow through the large window to the living room on the ground floor. He quietly floated up to her window and took a deep breath as he prepared to take a peek inside.

He steeled his nerves and poked his head around the side of the frame. Ichigo's soft pastel curtains were parted and he could see the inside of her bedroom clearly. Just as he'd anticipated, Ichigo was there. She was sitting on the floor in front of a low table and textbooks and other study materials were spread out before her. She had the end of a pencil pressed against her lips and a look of deep contemplation on her face.

She was still beautiful, was Kish's first thought. Her hair was the same deep merlot and her eyes that familiar strawberry chocolate he remembered. Her face was largely unchanged, but to Kish, small differences were apparent. Her eyes were that little bit sharper, her cheek bones the tiniest bit more defined, her lips the smallest bit fuller. Little touches of maturity that he only recognized because he'd been away. His heart quickened. He felt suddenly sad for having missed witnessing all of these small developments.

He felt an old spark of envy as his gaze traveled to the young man sitting across the table from her. Aoyama Masaya. The boy she'd chosen. The boy Kish would probably never be able to like for as long as he lived. The tan-skinned adolescent wore a small smile as he studied quietly. Kish clenched his teeth, unable to stop from baring his canines at the unaware male. His abdominal muscles clenched as he remembered being run through by Deep Blue's sword.

 _I died for her_ , he mentally told the other boy scathingly. _What did you do? You asked her to kill you. You thought you'd be the pretty little martyr. But you just couldn't stand to live anymore, could you? You're just a coward._

Coward. The word tasted like ash and failure on his tongue. Kish knew he was being petty and unfair. The real coward, the one who had really wanted to die, was Kish. He was the one who decided that death would be nicer than living in a world where he couldn't have Ichigo's love. And wasn't that pretty messed up, he thought. Someone who's barely started to live choosing to give up everything for a girl he'd only known for a few months; a girl who didn't even like him.

But Kish would do it again. He knew he would. Even without the threat of Deep Blue, he'd go to any length to keep her safe. _Just look at me,_ he thought self-deprecatingly. _The once proud alien. You were going to kill her and now you can't even raise a nail against her. She has you under her little finger and she doesn't even know it._

That was fine, though. His mission here was done already. Clearly, she and the boy were still together. He had the proof he needed. It would be best if he just went home.

But he couldn't. Not just yet, anyway. He'd come all this way. Nobody could fault him for wanting to savor this closeness to her for just a little longer.

He watched as Ichigo bit the end of her pencil and frowned down at her textbook. Her eyebrows were furrowed and… was it just him, or did she look upset? He continued to watch with new interest as she tore her eyes from her studies to look briefly at the boy. The brat was still working happily and didn't appear to notice her gaze. Ichigo's frown deepened and she looked back down at her work. Now that Kish was paying better attention, he could see that her shoulders were slumped and she was worrying her lower lip with her teeth. She continued do so for several moments before she finally pushed the book away with a sigh. She looked like she was going to grab a different book when the boy finally looked up.

"Are you tired?" he questioned gently. The boy looked at his watch and nodded to himself. "It's getting pretty late. Why don't we call it a night?"

Kish expected Ichigo to look relieved but her expression only shifted to appear more cheerful. "Okay," she agreed. "We can continue tomorrow."

The two disappeared from Ichigo's room and a few moments later Kish heard them saying their goodbyes at the front door. Ichigo stood on the pavement just outside and waved as the boy hopped onto his bike and rode away down the street. When he was out of sight, her hand dropped to her side and she sighed in what Kish thought to be a decidedly forlorn manner. He waited as she went back inside and returned to her window in time to watch her flop face-down onto her bed. He raised an eyebrow at the display. _Trouble in paradise?_ he wondered wryly.

A few moments later, there was a knock at the door and it opened to reveal Ichigo's mother. She was smiling and holding a tray with a small plate of shortbread cookies and a cup of tea. Ichigo perked up immediately and greeted her mother cheerfully.

"How was studying, honey?" the auburn-haired woman asked as she set the tray on a clear section of the study table.

Ichigo's smile faltered a little at the inquiry but she masked it quickly. "Good, mom," she answered as she hopped off her bed and returned to the table. She packed up a few of her books and took a cookie.

"Feeling confident yet?" Sakura prodded gently.

Ichigo made to nod but she faltered again and this time she seemed unable to find the energy to put back up her cheery façade. Instead, she gave up entirely and hung her head.

Her mother saw this and her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Still struggling?"

Ichigo nodded sullenly. "No matter how hard I study, I feel like I'll never catch up to Masaya-kun." She hung her head again. "I want to get into the same high school as him but my test scores… they're just not good enough. At this rate, I think it'll be a miracle if I'm able to pass the entrance exam for Hibiya."

Sakura gave Ichigo an encouraging smile and laid a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Listen, Sweetheart, I know you want to continue to go to school with Masaya-kun, but Hibiya is one of the top schools in Japan. Of course I'll be immensely proud if you're able to get in, but remember that you're aiming for the top of the top." She rubbed Ichigo's shoulder comfortingly. "You're a very smart girl and you've been applying yourself wonderfully this past year, so even if you don't make Hibiya, I know you'll get into a good school. And remember that you'll still be able to spend time with him outside of school. Masaya-kun isn't going to lose interest just because you ended up going somewhere else."

Ichigo sniffed and nodded her head glumly. It was clear that her heart was still very much set on this Hibiya school. Kish couldn't relate to the struggle of testing into schools. His planet's education system was still very rudimentary compared to Japan's. His people attended general education classes until they were old enough to enter into an apprenticeship. Of course, his people's technology was advanced compared to Earth's, so science and math were the most highly valued skills among his race. Every child was instructed carefully and thoroughly in these subjects from a young age. Less critical subjects such as language and history, however, were forced to take a back seat and were generally not studied in depth until one entered into their apprenticeship and then only if they proved pertinent to that particular field of work.

Kish wondered how he would fare on one of these "entrance exams". They sounded stressful and unpleasant.

"You just keep doing your best, dear," Sakura spoke again. "No hard work ever goes unrewarded. I believe that everything will turn out just fine, even if things don't happen exactly the way you think they should."

At this, Ichigo seemed to cheer up a little and she offered her mother a small smile. "Thanks, mom. I'll keep studying as hard as I can. I won't give up just yet."

Sakura smiled. "That's the spirit. Let me know if there's anything your father or I can help you with, alright?"

Ichigo nodded. "I will."

With that, Sakura took her leave, closing the door softly behind her. Kish felt a small pang of jealousy toward Ichigo for having such kind and supportive parents. Kish barely remembered his.

Ichigo got back to work with her books and Kish turned away. So, there wasn't any juicy drama between her and the boy after all. How disappointing. He supposed he should find a place to rest for the night. He would make the trip back home tomorrow.

It was nice to see her again, he thought as he flew slowly away toward the mountains. It was worth the trip just to see her face and hear her voice again. But he was fooling himself by thinking that anything would change by coming back here. He just hoped Pie and Tart didn't tease him too badly when he returned. He'd declared that he was leaving for good, after all.

o0o

It turned out that Kish was very bad indeed at keeping his word. The next day, he did not go home. _Just one more day_ , he told himself. It would be a waste to make such a long trip only to return after one evening. And it wasn't like his duties back home couldn't wait a little longer.

That evening he watched through the window again as Ichigo and the boy studied. It was largely uneventful, but Kish enjoyed just watching. Simply being near her was enough. He made himself comfortable just out of sight and basked in that nearness. Occasionally, Ichigo would speak up to ask a question and Kish's ears would perk up at the sound of her voice. Many of her questions, the ones about history and classical Japanese went right over his head, but he found himself quite able to answer her math and science questions and he couldn't stop himself from muttering the answer under his breath whenever she posed one.

That night, after the boy left, Ichigo once again fell onto her bed with a long sigh. Clearly, she still felt she wasn't making much headway toward her goal. Kish crossed his legs in the air and rolled over onto his side to rest his cheek in his palm. His booted foot bounced lazily as he considered the girl on the other side of the glass. If this was what she did every day when she wasn't fighting aliens then he wondered if he wouldn't be doing her a favor if he decided to stir up some trouble.

He wouldn't, of course. He had no desire to make his presence known. He was going home tomorrow, after all.

o0o

He didn't go home the next day. Or the day after that. Despite his daily promises to himself, he found himself becoming more and more invested in this "entrance exam" dilemma his favorite human faced. He began observing Ichigo at school as well as during her study sessions with the boy. One thing he noticed right away was that her teachers were useless. The classes were all lecture-style and geared toward rote memorization. The teachers apparently placed no value on teaching theory or the development of critical thinking. He was starting to understand better why Ichigo was struggling to understand concepts and equations he'd learned years ago. What she needed was someone to work with her and patiently explain the knowledge and processes behind the multitude of facts her teachers crammed into her head every day.

Perhaps, he considered, a private tutor was what she needed. Not that he had any personal investment in her getting into high school with ' _Masaya-kun'_ , but he could tell that this was important to her, and even if he didn't care for her reasons, he wanted her to succeed. She was putting her all into this, just like she'd always put her all into their battles. He liked seeing that look of determination on her face. It was so deliciously nostalgic.

But while Kish could do many things, he couldn't magic her a tutor out of thin air. Of course, there were plenty of people on his home planet who could teach her chemistry and physics and calculus and sociology and even combat and magic, but there was nobody who could teach her about Japanese history or kanji or classical literature—and he highly doubted she was eager to deal with aliens again even if they were there to help her pass her tests.

As he hovered in his spot just outside her window the evening of his fourth day stalking her, he wondered why Ichigo didn't ask her green friend for help. Lettuce had always struck him as incredibly drab and bookish. He'd always imagined that she and Pie would get along well. But… if he went to her, he would be forced to reveal himself. If he was going to go that far, he might as well just teach Ichigo himself.

Kish shook his head violently and immediately pulled the emergency brake on that train of thought. He was getting way too swept up in this. What was he even doing, he mentally chastised himself in a sudden moment of clarity. He needed to go home. He'd delayed it long enough already. It was of no consequence to him whether or not Ichigo got accepted into her froufrou fancy-pants school. He had a life to be getting back to. He swiveled around and prepared to take off. He would go now, while he was in his right mind.

_You have an opportunity to help her._

He stopped abruptly.

_You've only ever been a nuisance to her, but now you have an opportunity to support her instead._

Kish turned back around with a sigh. When had his life come to this? he wondered for the thousandth time since returning to Earth. He was powerless to resist her and it was high time he admitted it. There was no way he'd be able to leave when he knew he could help her.

"You'd better thank me for this, _Masaya-kun_ ," he muttered under his breath as he sat back to wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I deliberated for a good long while about which romanization to use for Kish's name. While "Kish" is the least accurate, "Quiche" made me laugh too much and "Kisshu" just felt unnecessarily over-literal. I know everyone has their own preferences. Just pretend I used yours. ;P
> 
> I'm going to try to post chapters weekly. A good chunk of this story is written already, so updates should be fairly regular. Stay tuned for Chapter 2!


	2. Chapter 2

_No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true. –_ Nathaniel Hawthorne

It was another hour before Aoyama finally left for the night. Ichigo saw him off at the door as usual before returning to her room, just like every night, to flop despondently onto her mattress. Kish waited a few minutes to make sure her mom wasn't going to come in before taking a deep breath and teleporting into her room.

Kish had never been in Ichigo's room before. It was surprisingly sparsely decorated and contained an unexpected deficit of pink. Rather, the color scheme favored whites and yellows. Ichigo remained face down on her bed. Kish had entered silently and the girl remained none the wiser to her uninvited guest.

He took a moment to look around the space. There was a straw summer hat hung decoratively on the wall near the door and a desk where study materials sat in neat stacks. On the wall beside the desk, an assortment of photos were arranged on a tack board. He recognized most of the faces as those of her friends. There was the green girl and the blue girl and the yellow monkey girl and the purple stoic girl… and in every picture, Ichigo sat or stood in their midst, beaming at the camera as though nothing in the world could possibly be amiss. Still other photos contained her and Aoyama. Kish scowled at these and promptly cast his gaze past them. He didn't care to see the clown any more than was strictly necessary.

Growing bored of the décor, Kish began to turn his body back to the bed to finally reveal himself to Ichigo when his eye caught a picture that didn't quite fit with the others, probably because this one wasn't a photo. Rather, it was a drawing in colored pencil depicting three figures that Kish knew well. Lines of color curved and intersected to recreate the likenesses of Pie and Tart and himself as they'd looked one year ago. The hand that drew them clearly belonged to no artist, but the pictures were close enough to be easily recognizable. Pie's hair was a jagged mop of purple and his face was set into a lopsided scowl. Tart was a cheerful blob of brown and red and his ears were nearly twice the size of his head. The figure in the middle, the one meant to be him, was slightly more true to the original. Yellow eyes looked back at him from a sharp, smirking face. Picture-Kish's fangs were bared and his old brown and black outfit fluttered in an invisible wind.

Kish's right hand rose to rub at the worn red sarashi that bound his forearms—the only part of his previous garb that remained. It was nice to have finer clothes now, but he'd never forget his humbler days. The sarashi reminded him of everything he'd endured to make it to where he was now.

Kish nearly jumped when he heard a sharp gasp behind him. It seemed he'd dallied too long. Oops.

"Who…! Who are you?" Ichigo's nervous voice demanded from the bed.

Kish took another deep breath and allowed a small smile to curve the corners of his lips. He lifted his hands beside his head unthreateningly and slowly turned around to face her. At first, Ichigo's expression lacked recognition. Kish watched calmly as her eyes raked over him, no doubt taking in his long ears and oddly colored eyes. He saw with perfect clarity the moment when she realized just who was in her room with her.

"Kish?" she breathed, her large eyes widening impossibly. She looked like she was seeing a ghost. Possibly, he realized now, because the last time she'd seen him he'd been dead.

His smile widened just a little. "You drew a picture of me," he commented mildly so as not to frighten her further. He gestured back at the drawing on the wall.

Ichigo shook her head dumbly and those impossibly large, strawberry chocolate eyes swept over him from head to toe. He watched them linger on his changed wardrobe—first, the point where his dark pants were tucked neatly into his boots, then the wide collar of his long tunic and finally the shaggy, too-long hair that inched down his neck. He wondered what was going through her head as her eyes rose to meet his again.

"You… you came back," she stated in awe, ignoring his comment. "The others said you were saved in the end, but you'd already left by the time I woke up. I didn't…" She swallowed thickly. "I didn't think you would come back."

Kish laughed humorlessly at that. "Probably not the most pleasant surprise, huh?"

She shook her head again, managing only to gape at him wordlessly for another long moment before finally saying, "Sorry, I'm not sure quite what to think. I mean, you just appeared suddenly in my room and I thought you were gone forever and… jeez, you're not here to attack me, are you? Because I honestly don't know why else you would be here but… look, I'm just really not in the mood to fight right now and—"

Kish held up a hand to stop her before her rambling could derail any further. "I'm not here to attack you," he assured her quickly—to which she let out a relieved sigh. He almost expected her to accuse him of lying and go on the defensive. Any other time she would've. But he imagined she really didn't know how to react to him after what he'd done the last time they saw each other.

Ichigo made no accusations, but she did look skeptical. "Then what _are_ you here for?" she questioned.

Kish's mouth widened into his old playful smirk and he batted his eyelashes at her. He opened his mouth to give her one of his usual snarky answers but she stopped him with a hand in his face. "Never mind. Whatever you're going to say, I probably don't want to hear it." She removed her hand and lifted it to her forehead to rub her temples. "Listen, Kish, whatever it is you're up to, I really don't have time for it right now. There's only one more month until entrance exams for high schools start and I really need to focus on studying." She placed her hands on his shoulders and turned him around. To his bemusement, she promptly began steering him toward the window. "So if it's all the same to you, I'd really rather get back to that now."

Kish allowed himself to be pushed only for a moment before he planted his heels against the wooden floorboards, halting their progress. He turned his head to look back at her over his shoulder. "Wait, Kitty-cat," he protested. "Don't be so hasty. Hear me out, at least."

Ichigo stopped pushing—likely more due to the fact that she wasn't strong enough to physically move him when he was resisting than his appeal—and cocked an impatient eyebrow at him. Kish was surprised that she obliged so easily. Normally she'd put up a fight and stubbornly refuse to give him the time of day. Kish didn't hesitate to take advantage of her cooperativeness and got straight to the point before she could change her mind. "I'm here because I want to help you."

Ichigo looked taken aback by this. "You? Want to help me?"

Kish didn't think he'd ever heard a question sound more dubious. _Okay, I earned that_ , he admitted in his head. "That's right," he confirmed. "You want to pass the test to go to that fancy school with your boyfriend, right?"

Ichigo's cheeks flared red. "How—?"

Kish didn't let her finish. "You'll have a much better shot if you let me help you prepare. I know I'm not your favorite person and a lot of things about humans still confuse me, but I'm educated. I can answer your questions and explain stuff that you don't understand. Whaddya say, Kitten?"

Ichigo shook her head. She looked baffled. Kish knew his offer looked like it was coming out of left field. Well, it was, he admitted, but he hoped she was considering it all the same.

It was several moments before she answered, but finally she opened her mouth and simply asked, "Why? Why would you want to help me go to school with Masaya-kun? Don't you hate him?"

Kish hesitated a moment and then made a show of shrugging that he hoped didn't come off as being forced. Putting on his best devil-may-care air, he said, "This has nothing to do with that flapjack. I just find it personally insulting that the person who kicked my butt over and over is running the risk of being defeated by something as dumb as a test."

Ichigo regarded him with a look that fell halfway between exasperation and amusement for a few beats and then her mouth curved into a smile that made Kish's heart flutter. It was a smile of relief and gratitude; an expression he'd seen her wear often but that had never been directed at him before. He decided in that moment that he liked it much more than her scowls. "You promise this isn't part of some new ploy to take our planet?" she asked with a hint of wariness.

Kish nodded and held a hand up to his heart. "That's all in the past," he assured her. "I come in peace, I swear."

Ichigo regarded him critically for another moment before her shoulders sagged and she nodded. "If you really mean that, then I guess having you help me couldn't hurt…" She still seemed hesitant but Kish imagined his offer was too good to refuse for someone in her position. Before he could say anything, however, her eyes narrowed and she added, "But if you try anything, you better be sure that I'll kick your butt all the way back to your planet, got it?"

Kish felt his eyes crinkle at the corners and he laughed out loud. It felt good to laugh honestly, for once. It felt like too long since he'd had a reason to. "Sure thing, Kitty-cat. You have my word that I'll do my best to contain my evil impulses."

Ichigo nodded seriously and held out a hand to him. Kish took it with a pointy-toothed grin. Her hand was warm and soft and matched his own every bit as well as he'd imagined it would. They shook once and nodded at each other.

One month. They had a lot of work to do.

o0o

Kish continued to come back every day. He and Ichigo fell into an easy pattern of sneaking study sessions after Ichigo's part time work at the café and then again after her sessions with Aoyama on the days that he came by. It was actually far more comfortable than either of them had expected it would be, given their history. Kish decided it was much nicer being in Ichigo's warm room with her rather than outside in the cold winter air. He did his best to instruct her on the subjects he had knowledge of and Ichigo seemed genuinely grateful for his help. In return, she would sometimes teach him things about human history and culture. Kish still thought humans were mostly foolish, but he enjoyed learning about their legacy on his people's home planet.

To Kish's relief, Ichigo tolerated his presence quite well. He'd thought it would be more difficult to earn her trust after he'd spent so long being her enemy, but it seemed she was more worried about passing her test than she was about being alone in her room with an alien who had tried to kill her on multiple occasions. Kish wondered if he should be offended by this. Really, though, he was just happy that he was getting an opportunity to spend time with her that didn't involve either of them getting beat up. It was quite refreshing, he thought, and as the days passed, it became easier for Kish to fool himself into thinking they might actually have a shot at becoming friends.

Frequently, as they worked, Kish would catch Ichigo looking at him with a frown on her face. He wondered if she was working out how she should feel about his re-entrance into her life. It was an uncharacteristically thoughtful look that highlighted how much she'd matured in the past year. The Ichigo of the past wouldn't have worn such an expression. She would've just blabbed out whatever was on her mind. She also probably wouldn't have accepted his offer of help. Kish, too, probably wouldn't have been able to stop himself from tormenting her just to see her reactions. They'd both changed.

The hardest part of their study sessions was dodging Ichigo's mom. She would often come to check on her daughter and Kish always had to keep an ear out for the creak of the stairs so he could hide before she accidentally stumbled upon him. Once, he was almost too late and he was only just able to teleport outside before Ichigo's door opened and Sakura popped her head in to look around Ichigo's room questioningly. "Ichigo? I thought I heard you talking to someone. Is Masaya-kun still here?"

Ichigo had quickly denied talking to anyone and claimed she was just thinking out loud. Her mother didn't look quite convinced, but since there was clearly nobody else in the room with her daughter, she let it go easily enough. Still, Kish was sure to observe a greater level of caution from that point on, as his existence would be a very difficult thing to explain.

"If only you didn't look so incriminatingly non-human," Ichigo lamented after he was forced to dodge her mom for the umpteenth time. "This would be so much easier if I could just pretend you were a study buddy from school."

Kish blinked as the answer to their woes blindsided him with its obviousness. Why hadn't he thought of that? The solution was so simple. "Ichigo," he spoke suddenly, "Do you think you could get your hands on a boy's school uniform?"

Ichigo's eyebrows shot up. "A boy's uniform? Wait, you're not actually thinking of trying to pass as my classmate, are you? I hate to be the one to break this to you, but not many human boys have green hair and yellow eyes. Not to mention those weird elf ears." She tugged at the tips of her own ears demonstratively.

Kish didn't know what an elf was but he ignored this. "Hair and eye color are easy things to change," he pointed out. "And I might not be very good at it, but I know a little vanishing magic. I can probably make my ears resemble a human's if I work at it."

Ichigo seemed intrigued by this but she still wasn't convinced. "Okay, but I can't just go to my teacher and say, 'I want a boy's uniform'. Do you have any idea how expensive uniforms are? And they don't arrange them for people just because they ask."

Kish raised an eyebrow at her. "They don't keep extras around? That seems a little ill-prepared, don't you think?"

Ichigo seemed to ponder this for a moment. Then she said, "Well, maybe they do… I can't say I really know much about that…" She stopped suddenly and her face lit up. "Wait! The entrance hall! They always keep a set on display there. I totally forgot because I pass the case so much that I don't notice it anymore." Her face fell then. "Ah, but I can't just steal one. I mean, I'm not a thief, for goodness sake. And the case is locked, anyway."

Kish's eyes lit up at this. "A locked case, eh?" He grinned. "Sounds like a piece of cake."

Ichigo's eyes widened at his insinuation. "Wait, Kish—"

Kish was gone before she could finish.

About five minutes later he reappeared in her room with the display uniform bundled under his arm. "I'm back, honey," he declared as he tossed the uniform onto her bed.

Ichigo looked horrified. "Kish!" she borderline screeched. "You can't just steal something like that! Oh my god, what's going to happen when the school finds out it's gone?"

Kish just shrugged. "Well, it's not like I left any evidence to tie the theft back to a student. The case is even still locked."

"Yes, but… but…" Ichigo seemed at a loss for words. She floundered for a moment and then finally said, "That just makes it even more suspicious, doesn't it?"

Kish plopped down on the bed next to the uniform and made a show of holding his hands up helplessly. "I know. Weird, right? There's just no telling what'll get abducted by aliens these days."

Ichigo threw him an incredulous look that lasted all of three seconds and then she surprised him by raising a hand to her mouth and giggling. Kish couldn't help the light blush that heated his cheeks. He'd never made her laugh before.

"Alright, alright," she gave in. "I guess there was no helping it. It's for the sake of my studies, after all. Just go and try it on. It would be lame if you went through the trouble of stealing it just to find out it doesn't fit." She walked to the door and gestured for him to follow. "Come on, I'll take you to the bathroom."

Kish nodded and sprang up from the bed. He scooped the uniform up and followed her.

o0o

Kish had never worn human clothes before, but they weren't difficult to figure out. He removed his own clothes and folded them neatly before slipping into the dark slacks. They were a little loose in the waist but the fit was close enough to not be a problem. He delicately unwound the red sarashi from around his forearms and set them atop his clothes and then pulled the white button-down shirt over his arms one at a time. Buttons were uncommon in the dress of his people but not unheard of, so he didn't struggle with the shirt. He tucked the ends into his pants like he'd seen other earthlings do and finally he tugged on the jacket. It too was a little on the large side, but Kish didn't think it was too noticeable.

When he was done, he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He raised an eyebrow as he took in the familiar shape and color. _I look like the brat,_ he noted with distaste. He supposed the clothes were alright design-wise. He didn't think the uniform was particularly attractive or ugly—it just _was_. The design was slim and suited his figure despite being a size off. Kish's only real complaint, besides looking like the one person he probably disliked most in the known universe, was that it was awfully plain. He'd never liked uniforms. They lacked personality. He preferred his own clothes.

Leaning over the bathroom sink, he stared hard at his ears and tried to recall his magic lessons. He wished now that he'd listened to Pie about being more attentive in class. It took several tries, but he eventually managed to make his ears appear passably human. Satisfied, he grabbed his clothes and, foregoing the door, teleported back into Ichigo's room.

Ichigo looked up from her Japanese Literature textbook at his arrival and to his satisfaction she actually looked impressed as her eyes swept over him.

"Like what you see?" he asked, posing for her goofily.

Ichigo ignored his teasing and instead got to her feet and stepped closer to inspect him with interest. "Wow, I didn't think it was possible but you actually look human," she remarked, her voice full of wonder. Her eyes flicked back up to his face. "I mean, your eyes and hair are still totally wrong, but other than that, I don't think anyone would be able to tell that you're not from this planet."

Kish grinned devilishly, flashing his canines. "Then what's stopping us? Let's get married right now."

Ichigo's reaction was prompt, as expected. She made a disgusted expression and shoved his face away from her roughly. "Ugh, dream on." She stuck her tongue out like he'd presented her with a scoop of pink bubblegum ice cream in a bowl of pizza sauce. Kish was only slightly offended.

When she'd recovered, she turned back around and said, "Anyway, we'll do something about your hair and eyes tomorrow. Right now I think it would be best for me to hit the hay." She grabbed his shoulders and started shoving him toward the window. She seemed to enjoy doing that, he'd noticed. "Try to keep that uniform intact, okay?" she instructed as she unlatched the lock and slid the window open.

Kish rolled his eyes. "What do you think I'm gonna do? Get in a fight with the neighbor's cat?"

Ichigo just gave him a shove and said, "Honestly? I wouldn't put it past you." Then she shut the window behind him and drew the curtains before he could say anything to defend himself.

Outside, Kish crossed his arms and huffed at her closed curtains. "At least don't make it sound like I would lose," he told her window irately.

He hovered for a moment in the dark night, letting the chilly winter air playfully rustle through his hair and new cotton uniform, before turning in the direction his ship was parked—out in the wilderness where it was unlikely for a hapless hiker to accidentally stumble upon it. He thought of the ship's cold, utilitarian cockpit and spartan accommodations and his mouth tugged downward into a frown. "I should probably see about finding somewhere more livable to stay for a while," he told the stars as his body shivered in the crisp wind.

Perhaps that house Pie had found for them last year was still available. He made a mental note to check on it tomorrow while Ichigo was at school, then zoomed away over the treetops back to his ship for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to those of you have have left comments and kudos on this story and a merry early Christmas to all my readers. :)
> 
> Just a quick note: I have a few pictures for this story that I’ll be putting on tumblr sometime in the near future. I’ll post a link to them in the next chapter, so look out for it!

_Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time._

– Marthe Troly-Curtin

o0o

The next day, Kish popped into Ichigo's bedroom as usual and was immediately greeted by a shopping bag shoved into his hands. He quirked an eyebrow. "What's this?" he asked, pulling the handles apart to look inside.

"Hair dye and color contacts," she answered. "I stopped by the drug store on the way home."

Only then did Kish notice that Ichigo was lifting a pile of towels off her bed. He looked on curiously as she began walking toward the door. She gestured for him to follow. "Come on," she instructed. "My parents aren't home yet. We need to get this done now before they can come back and barge in on us."

Kish followed her dutifully down the hall to the bathroom just the same as the day before and watched with interest as she pulled a chair up to the sink and laid one of the towels on the rim. Ichigo then went back to the door and locked it before turning back to him. "Take off your shirt," she commanded as she took the bag from him and started pulling out boxes and setting them on the counter.

Kish raised an eyebrow at her but didn't comment. He simply untied the loose cord at his waist and pulled his long tunic over his head. There were a thousand jokes he could have made just then but he kept silent for the sake of maintaining peace. Clad now in only his pants and sarashi, he waited for further instructions.

When Ichigo finally looked back at him her eyes widened just a little as they landed on the thick, jagged line of scar tissue that ran from his collarbone down across his chest. She froze for a moment as she looked at it with a face that had drained of much of its color. Kish just watched her without reaction.

"That scar," she spoke at last. "That was from when the Blue Knight… from when Masaya-kun…" She seemed unable to finish. She bit her lower lip and actually looked guilty as she turned her eyes away from him.

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it," he dismissed breezily as if it were some old wound that had nothing to do with her.

Ichigo continued to worry her lower lip and glanced back at his chest before meeting his eyes again. "Kish…" she started, looking uncomfortable. "I didn't…" she broke off again. "I never realized…"

He held up a hand to silence her. "Really, it's fine," he told her firmly. "I brought it on myself." He pointed at the sink and cocked an eyebrow meaningfully. "Come on, don't we have to finish this before your parents get home?"

Ichigo still looked guilty but she nodded in agreement. Becoming somewhat less awkward as she got back onto the groove of her task, she had him remove the ties from his hair and then sit down in the chair. "Lay your head back she commanded."

The next ten minutes was a cycle of lathering and rinsing and lathering again that would have been quite enjoyable were it not for the uncomfortable pressure on his neck. Kish lost himself in thought as Ichigo's fingers massaged his scalp. He thought of his planet and how everyone was getting on in his absence. He wondered if Pie and Tart were holding down the fort okay and if the elders were grumping and moaning about his irresponsibleness. He rolled his eyes beneath his closed eyelids. He didn't doubt they were. _Old bags_.

Finally, Ichigo tapped him on the shoulder and said, "All done."

Kish lifted his head from the sink with some reluctance. It was nice having Ichigo touch him in such an intimate and nonmalicious way. Once again, he found himself wondering why he ever thought that fighting her was a good idea. Why did he think violence was a way to her heart? The more he thought about it, the less sense his actions a year ago made to him. Even though it was only a year, it almost felt as if his memories of that time belonged to a stranger.

The image that greeted him in the mirror was unsettling in its offness. His forest hair had become a deep charcoal, just a shade or two shy of black. The damp strands of his fringe fell in wet clumps across his forehead and stuck to his cheeks. He looked like a Johnnies idol that had been dunked in a swimming pool.

"What do you think?" Ichigo questioned, placing her hands on her hips. She looked satisfied with her work.

Kish looked back at his reflection and made a face which his odd, dark haired double copied. "I look… Japanese, I guess."

He saw Ichigo's reflection behind him smirk. "Not yet, you don't. We still need to take care of those eyes."

Ichigo carefully cleared away all the evidence of their dyeing session and then ushered him out of the bathroom and back into her room where she handed him the bag with the contacts. "Think you can figure out how to put these in on your own?"

Kish just nodded and got to work unpackaging the lenses. Contacts were something he was familiar with. Pie had once acquired a pair out of curiosity and he and Tart had been made his test subjects. They'd both spent an hour wandering around with one blue eye each laughing about how they could be the new Deep Blue. Kish smiled faintly at the memory as he scooped out the contacts one at a time and applied them to his irises. When he was finished, Ichigo handed him a hand mirror and he once again was made to look upon his newly altered visage.

He smiled when he saw the color Ichigo had chosen. The hue was an earthy amber, not too far from his natural eye color. It was far less jarring than the blue Pie had chosen. Together with his newly darkened hair and round, human ears, he definitely looked the part of the common Earthling. He ran his fingers through his hair to break up the clumps and shook his head to help the strands settle. He hardly recognized himself, but he supposed that was the point.

"I'm probably going to regret saying this," Ichigo spoke from beside him, "but you actually look pretty handsome. As a human, I mean."

Kish lowered the mirror and looked back at her. He let his lips curve into a smirk that had Ichigo rolling her eyes. "Don't fall for me so easily, Kitten. I'll feel bad if after all that effort I put in a year ago a simple palette change was all it took to win you over."

Ichigo just sighed. "You're indefatigable."

"Good word. Remember that one for the test."

Ichigo plucked the mirror from his hand and stowed it in her desk drawer. "Now that your hair and eyes are done, go get changed so that we can get back to studying," she instructed, closing the door with a snap. "Each moment wasted is a point lost on the exam."

Kish simply smiled and teleported to the bathroom to do as he was told. He liked this new, less-hostile version of Ichigo. Now that they weren't at each other's throats all the time, he was learning things about her he'd never realized, or perhaps they were traits that only surfaced around him. Traits such as her dry snarkiness, which had come as a very welcome surprise, and her unexpected sensibleness. Around her friends and the brat, Ichigo always acted cheerful and somewhat vapid, but he got to see the side of her that was bright and down to earth. Likely this was because she simply didn't care enough to put up a front with him, and while that should make him feel bad, it only served to make him fall in love with her all the deeper.

This trip had been a very terrible idea. Kish wasn't letting go. If anything, interacting with Ichigo like this was only making him hold on tighter. He was a damn fool for thinking he could walk back into her life with no repercussions; thinking he could just leave whenever he wanted. He couldn't.

But, he thought as he pulled his arms through the sleeves of his white uniform shirt, he just couldn't find it in himself to care. Ichigo was his weakness and that was a part of him that was incontrovertibly immutable. Whether or not she got into her dream school with her perfect boyfriend, Kish would not regret helping her.

o0o

From that day on, whenever Kish studied together with Ichigo, he was no longer Kish, but Keisuke, a fellow third year who was often absent from school due to traveling with his parents. This was the story Ichigo told her mom when 'Keisuke' showed up at the door later that evening claiming to have arranged a study date with Ichigo.

Ichigo's mother was confused to see a new face at her door, but she welcomed 'Keisuke' amicably enough and seemed impressed when he told her he too was aiming for Hibiya. "I had no idea there were so many motivated students at Ichigo's school," she remarked as Kish took her hand in greeting.

Being Keisuke took some getting used to. The school uniform was stiff and restrictive and Kish frequently found himself having to push his unbound hair back from his face as he flipped through Earth textbooks at Ichigo's low table. Ichigo clearly found his struggle amusing because she frequently looked up at him with a twinkle of mirth in her eye. Kish felt like the butt of some private joke, but having Ichigo laugh at him was better than having her shout at him and was certainly a vast improvement over last year, so he said nothing on the matter. He wished he could tie up his hair, but Ichigo had informed him quite sternly that his signature style was very much not in fashion on Earth and would only cause him to stand out unnecessarily.

Despite his hair-related woes, the two of them were managing to have a productive study session. Kish was helping Ichigo understand the citric acid cycle—apparently called the Krebs cycle on Earth after some bigshot American biochemist. Humans were awfully self-aggrandizing, he thought privately, naming a natural life process after themselves as if they'd invented it. Maybe if they spent less time trying to own things, they would be more productive about trying to protect the things they so direly sought to own.

Ichigo seemed to have a fair grasp of the general concept of the cycle, but she struggled with remembering the specific chemical reactions at each of its stages. She'd written down all the step in a table and was studying it intently as if she thought she could burn it into her memory simply by holding it front of her face long enough. Maybe she could.

"Do you really need to know the whole thing?" Kish asked, idly spinning a pencil in his fingers as he watched her. "That seem a bit excessive, don't you think?"

Ichigo shook her head behind her chart. "That's the level of studiousness expected from Hibiya students," she informed him. "If I can't even remember something like this, then there's no way Hibiya will look twice at my exam.

"Remember…." Kish didn't try to hide his distaste as he repeated the word. "Again with the memorizing. What is it with you humans and memorizing things? You know that's exactly your problem, right?"

Ichigo finally looked up from her paper. She furrowed her eyebrows at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you're not trying to understand any of this. You're just trying to make it stick in your brain." Irately, he plucked the chart from Ichigo's hands and slapped it down on the table. "Alright, listen up. We're going to go over this from the beginning. Pay attention to these chemical compounds." He pointed to CO2 an H2O. "Now, beginning with our initial Carbons…"

Patiently, Kish explained the turns of the citric acid cycle and the chemical transformations that occurred along the way. It took some time, but eventually Ichigo began to get it. Kish noticed that it helped greatly when he used the common names of the chemical compounds. That made the cycle easier for her to visualize. After about forty-five minutes of running through it and making modifications to Ichigo's chart, she could more or less reproduce the cycle on her own.

Kish nodded, pleased, as she capably walked herself through the final step. "There you go. Better?"

Ichigo nodded and looked up from her paper to offer him a grateful half-smile. " _Way_ better. I feel like I'm not just shooting in the dark anymore. Now I just have to remember everything you told me," she joked.

Kish wagged a finger at her. "Not remember. We don't memorize, we _understand_ ," he reminded her. "You can't forget something you understand. So if you're determined to remember something today, remember that."

Ichigo laughed and made a gesture with her right hand that Kish didn't recognize. He imagined it was some kind of human military salute because she followed it with, "Roger that, Chief."

Kish couldn't help but return her teasing with a grin of his own. A joke! From Ichigo! He ever thought he'd see the day. His serious, no-nonsense Ichigo never made jokes. Not to him, anyway. Did this mean they were becoming friends?

He hoped so. It wasn't what he wanted, but he could settle for that.

 _Friends with Ichigo…_ He took a second to mull that thought over. Yes, he decided, if being her friend meant that he could continue to see her every day, he could definitely settle for that.

o0o

Because Kish now came to study under the guise of an alter-ego, it didn't make sense for 'Keisuke' to show up for two separate study sessions before and after Aoyama, so the two settled into a new arrangement where instead of coming straight home after her work finished in the café, Ichigo would meet Kish at a nearby Doutor for a short study session before going to her house to meet Aoyama.

Kish found he preferred this arrangement as it allowed him to enjoy a warm milk tea while they pored over textbooks. It became a habit for him to wait at the café for Ichigo to finish so that they could go together, as waiting at the coffee shop by himself quickly became boring. Though he never did anything to call attention to himself, it didn't take long for Ichigo's friends to pick up on their routine. It started with vaguely confused glances at his person as he waited with a plate of cakes for the shop to close for the third day in a row, and as the days passed the looks became curious and then borderline suspicious until one day the blue girl finally decided to confront him.

Mint wore a look of deep suspicion as she brought him his usual tray of cakes. Her eyes raked over his form, lingering on the sewn-on patch displaying Ichigo's school emblem briefly before settling on his face. "Keisuke, right? Ichigo says you go to her school," she spoke without preamble as she set the cakes in front of him. Her eyes narrowed as they studied his face. "I'm sure I've never met you before… but you look familiar."

Kish smiled disarmingly. "Maybe you've seen me around?" Mint was sharp. Kish knew any hint of who he really was needed to be carefully buried lest she see through his disguise. For now, he would act the part of the perfect gentlemanly classmate.

Mint's frown deepened. "Perhaps," she allowed. Kish thought she would leave after that, but to his surprise, she pulled out the chair across from him and took a seat. "Ichigo says you've been helping her study for the Hibiya entrance exam."

Kish didn't allow his smile to falter. _Persistent, isn't she?_ "Yes. I'm taking the exam as well, so she came to me for a little extra help."

Mint hummed and nodded knowingly. "That girl needs all the help she can get," she agreed. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her seat. She eyed Kish down the slope of her nose. "It's very kind of you to offer your aid, but you do know _why_ she wants to go to Hibiya, right?"

Kish had to stop himself from outwardly cringing. "Because it's the school her boyfriend is planning to attend."

Mint nodded. "That's right. So do yourself a favor and try not to get too attached. You should know that Ichigo only has eyes for him."

Ah. So that's what this was. A warning to the starry-eyed new guy. Kish thought it was surprisingly kind of Mint to go out of her way to spare his feelings. She'd never struck him as the type.

But Kish knew better than anyone how doomed his chances were. "I'll keep that in mind," he promised.

Mint's lips curved up into a small smile and she pushed her chair back to stand up. "As long as you know," she said. "We all know how much it means to her to get into that school, so we're grateful to you for helping her. Just don't get any funny ideas about competing with Aoyama. For your own sake."

Kish smiled wryly. "Noted," he said mildly. Even without Mint telling him, he knew better than to think he could ever outmatch Aoyama. At anything.

With a final parting nod, Mint left him to his confections. Kish sliced into a piece of strawberry cream cake with the side of his fork and lifted the bite in front of his face where he considered it with a bland expression. "Aoyama this, Aoyama that," he grumbled, rotating the fork in a slow circle. "He's just like this cake—uninspired sponge. Pretty on the outside but no substance. No personality. I honestly don't understand what she sees in him." He shoved the bite in his mouth and chewed slowly. The cream was sweet but utterly flavorless. He stuck his tongue out petulantly.

In another hour, Ichigo had finished her shift and the two relocated to Doutor. Kish happily sipped his usual milk tea as he looked over Ichigo's math. He noted with pride that she'd made considerable gains since he'd first begun tutoring her. She was no longer spending hours scouring her textbook just to figure out how to do the example problems. While he checked her work, she moved on to history and she was currently tapping her pencil against her cheek as she perused an article in her textbook. She looked confused and a little frustrated.

"Tell me about it," he prompted, pushing the math away. The best way to affirm understanding of content was to teach it to someone else. It was a technique he utilized often with Ichigo when she was having problems.

"It's all these dates," she grumbled. "In 1599, Tokugawa Ieyasu forcibly took control of Osaka Castle, starting a war between those who supported Mitsunari and those who opposed him. Ieyasu's group, who opposed Mitsunari, eventually won in the battle near Sekigahara in 1600, making Ieyasu the de facto leader of Japan. That's all well and good, except that he didn't actually receive the title of Shogun until 1603, and I'm never going to remember that."

Kish put his cheek in his hand and smiled. "How about inventing a story to explain the three years it took him to become Shogun?" he suggested. "It's just like with your "Krebs" cycle: If you can find a way to make sense of the matter, remembering it won't be so difficult. For example, maybe Ieyasu got super lost on his way to Heian Palace to receive his title from the emperor." He lifted his free hand and, spreading his fingers, drew an arc in the air above them. "Imagine. Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of the three great unifiers of Japan—absolutely no sense of direction. Behind his back, his friends jokingly referred to him as 'Tokugawa I-can't-find-you'."

Ichigo laughed and swatted his arm. "That's ridiculous."

Kish grinned. "Ridiculous enough to remember?"

His answer was a beatific smile that made his heart flutter. "You know what? Yeah. If nothing else, I'll remember that."

Kish hid his blush behind his bangs as he returned to checking her math. Ichigo was far too cute when she smiled. He wanted to take her smiles and put them in a box for only him to enjoy. Curse Aoyama for the millionth time for stealing her heart!

By the time he'd finished looking over her work, the clock had already hit 6:45, meaning it was time for Ichigo to return home and have her usual study time with Aoyama. The girl in question glanced at her watch and put her pencil down to stretch her arms high above her head. "It's already that time," she remarked, sounding a bit put out. "I was making such good progress."

Kish grinned. The fact that Ichigo was actually bemoaning having to go see the brat tickled him oh, so pleasantly. "I'll be around at the usual time to pick back up where we left off," he promised. "So go have fun with your boyfriend."

Ichigo sighed. "Fun… yeah. Sitting quietly and poring over textbooks is such a hot date idea."

Kish arched an eyebrow. "I've been enjoying it."

Ichigo laughed softly. "It's different with you. You can make anything fun."

Kish's heart leapt. He had to repeat Ichigo's words in his head once before he would let himself properly believe them. Could it be… that he was actually outmatching Aoyama at something? She'd called him fun. _Him_. Not that boring block of cold konnyaku she was dating. Kish was desperately tempted to say something snarky but he didn't want to ruin the moment.

"I just wish there was a way to fit in more study time," she continued, saving him from his inner debacle. "Evenings just aren't enough with the exam only two weeks away."

Kish's mouth formed a straight line as he considered this. He had no other obligations—he was free as a bird all day every day—but she had school and her job at the café. If she wanted to fit in more study sessions, she was going to have to get creative with her time. "How about lunchtime?" he suggested, the idea coming to him suddenly. "I can come to your school and help you during your break. The school library is usually open during lunchtime, right? Nobody would notice one extra student."

Ichigo's eyes lit up. "Would you? That would really help me out!"

Kish nodded. "Just as long as you can tear yourself away from Aoyama for that hour," he teased.

"Sure, sure. No problem," Ichigo answered breezily. "The library is the last place anyone would think to look for me, anyway."

"Then it's a date," Kish said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Ichigo shoved him playfully. "In your dreams, space nerd."

Ichigo quickly packed her things and rushed from the coffee shop to make her study date with Aoyama while Kish watched her go with an amused half-smile and cleared away his empty cup at a far more leisurely pace. Normally, he would feel a stab of jealousy when Ichigo left him to study with her boyfriend, but today, his heart felt light. He continued to repeat Ichigo's former remark in his head. _"It's different with you. You can make anything fun."_

It wasn't much, but he felt like he'd scored a victory over Aoyama today.

"More fun," he repeated to himself in a sing-song voice. "Well, of course I am!"

He threw his cup in the trash and deposited his tray on the return shelf with a spring in his step. He wasn't ever going to let Ichigo take back those words. She would never even think to, because "fun" was Kish's middle name.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays, folks! I apologize for skipping a week. The holiday season is always just like that. 
> 
> As I mentioned in the last chapter, I’ve posted a couple of quick concept doodles for this story to my tumblr. If you’re interested in taking a gander, here’s the link: cabbage-foam.tumblr.com/post/639592090228211712/i-didnt-do-anywhere-near-as-much-arting-over-the
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

_Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new._  
—Ursula K. Le Guin

o0o

The next day, as promised, Kish snuck into Ichigo's school to tutor her. The library was full of high school-bound third years trying to get in a little extra study time and Kish and Ichigo fit right in.

It was interesting, Kish thought, being surrounded by so many people his own age. On his planet, children were few and many were lost to accidents or hunger due to the harsh living conditions. Parentless and with no extended family to care for him, Kish had survived by his own wits until he was old enough to enter into an apprenticeship. He'd been to school, but once lessons were done each day he'd been on his own. Normally, orphaned children were taken care of by the community, but Kish's parents had been vocally opposed to the plan to retake their former planet, and after they'd died, nobody had wanted to take in their child. He'd been left to fend for himself. Looking around at these teenagers whose only worry was getting into a good high school, he felt jealousy rise in his throat like bile. These humans knew nothing of hardship. They knew nothing of survival. Just a little, he remembered why he'd hated them so just a year ago.

He shook his head to clear it. Things were different now. His planet was prospering thanks to the efforts of the very humans he'd hated. He no longer had any reason to feel resentful.

"Kish."

Kish pulled his gaze away from the other students to look back at his study buddy. Ichigo was tapping the back of her pencil to her lips thoughtfully. "I've been thinking…"

Kish raised a curious brow.

"You know, you could take the entrance exam," she said, looking up at him with large, chocolate eyes. "Actually take it. As Keisuke."

Kish blinked at her dumbly.

"I mean," she continued, "you're smart. And you seem to enjoy being on Earth. You could live as a human if you wanted to." She seemed embarrassed to vocalize such a notion and she attempted to hide that fact by looking down at her notebook. "It's just a thought."

Kish blinked again. Him? Live as a human?

"I'm sure you have a life back on your own planet. Heck, you're probably some celebrated hero. But if you want to live here… even if only for a little while, I think you could do it. And I've been thinking that it might actually be fun to go to school with you."

Kish almost couldn't believe his ears. Ichigo was… Was she actually asking him to stay? She wanted him to go to school with her? The same school she was so dead set on going to for the sole purpose of being with her boyfriend?

"Wait a minute, Kitty-cat," he spoke at last, holding up a hand. "Are you sure about this? Do you really want me hanging around and butting in on your love-love Aoyama high school dream?"

Ichigo's cheeks reddened visibly at his question. She peeked back up at him through her fringe. "Don't get me wrong! I'm just thinking about your future. You've done so much to help me, and in my opinion, you deserve to take the exam just as much as I do. I'm just saying that you could have a good life here. If that's what you wanted."

Kish chuckled lightly, bringing his fist up to his mouth, and then smiled broadly. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to try," he conceded. "Tell you what, if you can arrange for me to take the test, I'll do it. If I do end up being accepted… well, then I guess I'll have a decision on my hands, won't I?"

Ichigo returned his smile with a beaming one of her own and nodded. She held out her hand which he grabbed and gave a firm shake. "Then let's both do our best."

o0o

Kish's heart felt as if it were full of light as the days passed and the test day approached. Every day, he waited in anticipation for fourth period to end and Ichigo to come rushing into the library before anyone else, clutching her lunch to her chest and looking over her shoulder as though she expected to be caught by a teacher or her boyfriend. He relished the hours he got to spend with her, and in the time they were apart he thought only of how he couldn't wait to see her again.

The love he felt for her now… it was different from the flame he'd carried for her before. Rather than wanting to possess her, he found he was content just to be with her. When she was happy, he was happy. When she was sad or stressed, all he wanted to do was find a way to put a smile back on her face. He lived and breathed for her. And he was happy. The crushing loneliness he'd felt every day on his own planet fled in her presence. He felt like the old Kish again, but _better_. She made him want to be kinder, more determined, more forgiving, the best version of himself that he could be. And the best part of it all was knowing that he was being a positive force in Ichigo's life as well.

"Doesn't Ichigo seem happier lately?" Pudding remarked in a low voice to Zakuro and Mint as they cleared tables several meters away from where he sat. They probably thought they were being subtle, but Kish's alien ears picked out their conversation easily.

"When I asked her, she said she was feeling much more confident about the exam. It looks like all that extra tutoring has been helping a lot," Lettuce chimed in, coming to join them with a broom.

"I talked to Aoyama-kun and he said she's seemed a lot less stressed during their study sessions together," Mint added. "He asked me if she's been studying on her own time and I mentioned that she's been seeing a tutor. That Keisuke has really done wonders for her. It's like she's not worried at all anymore."

"We should do something to thank him. Maybe we could all pitch in and buy him something nice to show our gratitude?" Lettuce suggested, raising the broom handle to her cheek.

Kish's eyebrows rose and sneaked a peek over at them. He hardly needed a gift, but it was an awfully thoughtful suggestion. Ichigo really did have wonderful friends. For the first time, he felt a small pang of guilt for deceiving them, though he had no doubt their tune would change if they knew who he really was.

 _I should tell them_. He surprised himself with the thought. _If I want to even consider living on this planet, I need to be honest with them._

Kish grimaced and turned back to his food. It was going to be an awkward conversation for sure, but he knew it was one he'd have to have sooner or later. He owed it to Ichigo. He didn't want her to have to keep lying to her friends.

o0o

The following weekend was the final weekend before the exam. Kish thought Ichigo would want to maximize study time, but instead she surprised him by asking him to join her and her friends on a shopping trip. Kish was a little confused but he accepted without hesitation. Far be it from he to refuse an opportunity to spend more time with her.

It was a simple matter to abduct some street clothes off a mannequin from a nearby department store for the occasion. He felt it would be a little weird to wear his uniform out on a Sunday when the rest of his company would all be dressed casually. The outfit was simple: a mid-length winter coat in dark green with a faux fur trimmed hood over a striped shirt and jeans. It was warm and comfortable and, if the other males he saw on the street were any indication, suitably stylish.

He met Ichigo and her friends with a smile and they all took turns introducing themselves. He was inwardly pleased to note that he was taller than Zakuro now, even with her heels.

"So, you're the famous Keisuke who has been tutoring our Ichigo," Lettuce said amicably once introductions were complete. "We're all very grateful to you for your help. Ichigo has perked up a lot since you started helping her."

Kish awarded her his most winning smile. "The pleasure has been wholly mine," he replied, smoothly transitioning into gentleman-classmate mode. "She's helped me as much as I've helped her."

"You're also aiming for Hibiya?" Zakuro asked. She pulled her leather jacket tighter around her shoulders as they were buffeted by the chilly winter wind. Bursts of warm air could be felt from shops as they weaved through crowds of fellow shoppers.

"That's right," Kish confirmed. He stuck his hands in his coat pockets to protect them from the cold. "I wasn't intending to go to high school at first, but Ichigo talked me into it."

His words were met by a gallery of shocked faces. "You're kidding," Mint said, her tone fully disbelieving. "Who switches from not wanting to go to high school to taking the entrance exam for one of the most prestigious schools in the nation?"

Kish just smiled and shrugged. It was Ichigo who saved him from having to answer. "I told him it would be a waste not to go to high school since he's so smart," she explained. "If he didn't spend so much time traveling, he'd probably be at the top of the third-year class."

"Oh! So you're a traveler? That's fantastic," Lettuce chimed in. "Have you been to many different countries?"

Kish shared a secret smile with Ichigo. "I've traveled further than most."

Lettuce clasped her hands together in front of her chest and looked up at him with stars in her eyes. "You'll have to tell me about all the places you've seen. Perhaps when we break for lunch? I've always wanted to travel."

The group spent the morning looking at clothes in fashionable boutiques and the girls amused themselves by trying on silly accessories. They passed several crêpe stands and eventually the girls' willpower gave out and they stopped to purchase some of the whipped cream stuffed confections. Kish was surprised when Ichigo returned from the stand with a colorful, fruity crêpe in each hand and proceeded to hand one to him. He took it with a grateful smile. "Thanks, Ichigo. You didn't have to spend your money on me."

She shook her head and gave him a soft smile. "I wanted to."

When they'd finished their snacks, they hopped right back into shopping, giggling at over-the-top outfits in cosplay stores and modeling weird buttons artfully printed with creative and largely incorrect English. Ichigo found one that read, "Space Case: Be aware always for ABDUCTIONS," and giggled all the way to the register to pay for it. Kish was halfhearted in his swatting of her hands as she pinned it to his coat's breast pocket.

They took lunch at a posh, aesthetic café just off the main road and Kish indulged Lettuce with tales of the various lands he'd seen. Pudding too was enamored with his accounts of different places and wanted to know all about the exotic animals he'd encountered.

After lunch, they took the train to Ueno to visit the park and spent the afternoon enjoying the early spring flowers and budding cherry blossom trees. "We should come here for flower viewing this year," Pudding remarked as they strolled beneath the canopy of still leafless trees. "Now that we're not dodging alien attacks every other day."

The small, golden-haired girl was hurriedly shushed by Mint who looked back at Kish with panicked eyes. "Pudding!" she hissed lowly.

Pudding 'eeped' and closed her own hands over Mint's.

Kish made a show of looking confused. "Alien attacks?" he echoed, playing dumb. "Are you referring to the strange monster attacks that had Tokyo all in an uproar last year?" Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Ichigo making a face at him. He pretended not to see her. "That was quite the nuisance, I heard. It's a good thing that team of magical girls was around to contain the destruction." He touched his chin with his fingertips thoughtfully. "Hmm… but I wonder where they are now? Weird to think that there might people with such odd and fantastic powers hiding right in plain sight."

Ichigo took that moment to clear her throat purposefully, drawing the group's attention away from him. "Yes, _quite_ weird," she agreed. "Kind of makes you wonder what _other_ superhuman forces of nature could be hiding right under our noses." She gave him a pointed look that caused him to hide a grin behind the collar of his coat.

Crisis seemingly averted, the group continued their walk. It was nice, Kish thought, just to walk through nature every now and again and enjoy it. Earth was such a luscious, beautiful planet. The fact that such a serene place could exist in the heart of Tokyo meant that there was hope for humanity yet. It saddened him that he hadn't seen that before. He'd really messed up, making humans his enemies.

He didn't realize he'd begun to lag behind the group until Ichigo's sudden presence at his side snapped him out of his nature induced reverie. "What are you thinking about?" she asked softly, keeping pace beside him. "You look uncharacteristically solemn."

Kish smiled wryly back at her. "I was just thinking about a year ago," he answered. "I'm sorry, you know. I should have said that a long time ago. The way I behaved back then was inexcusable. I was… I must have been out of my mind."

Ichigo smiled down at the pavement. "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but apology accepted." She looked up at him and her red pigtails were tousled by a chilly breeze. "Some of the things you did… I thought I'd never forgive you. But you're different now. I mean, I never imagined you and I could have a conversation like this—as friends. I thought you only knew how to be an obsessive, freaky stalker."

Kish laughed out loud and his breath puffed out in front of him in a white cloud. "In my defense, what fourteen-year-old boy isn't an obsessive, freaky stalker?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Masaya-kun was never like that."

Kish just shrugged. "We can't all be Mr. Fresh-And-Foamy-Quick-Acting-Dish-Soap-For-Brains. Some of us have, like, personalities."

Ichigo scrunched up her face in a way that told Kish he was about to be on the receiving end of a deliciously snarky retort, but she never got the chance to deliver it as right that moment her cell phone started blaring. "Earthquake warning, earthquake warning," a woman's voice rang out from the device. "Evacuate to safety immediately." All around them, the same alarm was sounding from the pockets and purses of fellow park visitors. Ichigo and Kish only had a moment to be confused before the ground started violently heaving beneath their feet.

Ichigo cried out in shock and her arms swung out in attempt to keep her balance, but the strong tremors knocked her onto her bottom. Up ahead, Kish could see the rest of the Mew Mews in various states of grabbing hold of the nearest sturdy object.

"What is _thiiiiiis!"_ Mint cried in outrage as she clutched Zakuro's arm. Pudding seemed to be having the least amount of trouble keeping on her feet. She bounced around like an acrobat as the earth tried its darnedest to uproot her. It was comical despite the danger of their present situation.

Kish got down on one knee to help Ichigo back onto her feet when a sharp and very loud _**crack**_ split the air. Confused, he looked around but saw nothing to explain the noise. It wasn't until he heard Lettuce's desperate cry of " _Watch out!_ " that he looked behind him and saw that an old and particularly large cherry tree had snapped and was collapsing right over the spot where they sat. With no time to move or even to think, Kish flung out an arm and caught the massive trunk before it could crush them. The thing weighed a ton, but his alien physiology combined with magic made him strong. He gritted his teeth with the effort of holding the tree aloft as tremors continued to try to unbalance him.

Ichigo stared up at the tree trunk suspended just feet above her in shock. It took a good moment to get her brain in gear to actually move out of its path, but once she was safely out of the way, Kish was able to slide his own body out from beneath it and released it to gravity. Raising a shaky arm to his forehead, he wiped his brow. That had been much too close.

It took only another minute for the tremors to still and Ichigo's friends came hurrying back to them, their expressions full of concern. "Are you two alright?" Mint called as they formed a circle around the pair. "You nearly became pancakes just now!"

"Keisuke-kun, that was amazing!" Pudding took the torch. "You're really strong!"

Zakuro, who had been particularly nonverbal since she'd asked him about Hibiya, did not look so impressed. She looked first at the fallen tree and then back at him with an expression of suspicion. "What was that?" she demanded, her eyes narrowing. "You should have been crushed just now. There's no way a teenager of your stature should be able to support the weight of a two-thousand-pound tree."

Ichigo hurriedly jumped to his rescue. "It was probably rotten inside. I'll bet that's why it fell." She shakily got to her feet and brushed off her bottom. Kish followed suit, swatting at his knee to dislodge the dirt that had stuck there. "Anyway, it doesn't matter how he did it, does it? We're all safe. But we should find out what caused that earthquake. It could be some new trouble."

"Right," Pudding agreed. Then she turned to Zakuro and wagged a chastising finger. "It's not very nice to suddenly go off on someone who just saved Ichigo's life." The other girls made noises of agreement.

Zakuro's frown deepened and she crossed her arms over her chest. "I think you all are forgetting that trouble follows Ichigo like bad luck follows a black cat. Just think for a minute. Isn't it suspicious that right when Ichigo is struggling, a friendly classmate nobody's ever seen before suddenly shows up to offer help? And don't you all think it's strange that just days after meeting 'Keisuke', he's suddenly all she talks about?" She whipped her head around to stare down the girl in question. "When was the last time you went on a date with Aoyama, Ichigo?"

Ichigo froze. As the girls looked on, she brought a hand up to scratch her cheek nervously. "I've been busy studying," she defended meekly. "I haven't had time…"

"That never would have stopped you before," Zakuro persisted. "Aoyama came to talk to me the other day. He was concerned that you've been avoiding him."

Ichigo's face paled. She looked blindsided, as though it hadn't even occurred to her that she'd been spending less time with her boyfriend and that Aoyama might be worried about it.

Zakuro turned back to Kish. "I'll ask you again: what was that just now? If you have something you're hiding, you'd be wise to spit it out now."

Kish stuck his hands in his pockets and sighed. _Well,_ he reasoned inwardly, _I'd been planning to tell them anyway. I supposed now is as good a time as ever_. He cocked his head slightly and regarded the tall girl evenly. "Very perceptive. You've seen right through me."

Following this statement, the other girls, barring Ichigo, all took a step back. Their postures and expressions at once switched to defensive. Kish pulled his hands from his pockets and the girls immediately reached for their purses where they kept their transformation pendants. Kish benignly raised his hands to his head and passed them over his ears, undoing the magic that caused them to appear round and human-like.

"Alien!" Lettuce cried the moment the magic unraveled. She pulled out her pendant and prepared to invoke her transformation.

"You've got to be kidding!" Mint exclaimed, doing the same. "I thought we were done with you creeps!"

Ichigo rushed to stand between Kish and her friends. She raised her hands and waved them desperately. "Wait! He's not here to cause trouble. He really is just helping me with my studies! Honest!"

Zakuro didn't back down. She too had her pendant out and at the ready. "Ichigo, you've got an _alien_ helping you study for your test and you expect us to just trust him, no questions asked? Since when have the aliens ever come in peace?"

Kish held up a finger to protest, but when he failed to find any viable counterpoint, he dropped it and shrugged helplessly. "Yeah, okay. That's not wrong."

Ichigo glared back at him. One of her eyebrows twitched in annoyance. "If you're just going to sabotage yourself, then kindly shush up, Kish."

There was a collective gasp from the girls surrounding them. Pudding was the first to drop her guard, Lettuce following shortly after. "Kish?" the bespectacled girl echoed, blinking at him uncertainly.

Pudding leapt past Ichigo and landed right in front of him. She slapped her hands to her cheeks in awe as her big, burgundy eyes traveled over his form. When she was finished looking him over, she met his gaze and asked, "Are you really Kish? What happened to your eyes and hair? You don't look like the Kish I remember. If you're Kish, then where's Tar-Tar?"

"Ichigo," Lettuce stepped in, saving Kish from the onslaught of questions from their youngest comrade. "Please explain. Why has Kish returned? And why have you been hiding him?"

Feeling that Ichigo had floundered enough on his behalf, Kish elected to answer for her. "What Ichigo said is true. I really am just here to help her prepare for her exam," he explained. "If it weren't for that, I would've left a long time ago."

"Why did you come back in the first place?" Mint questioned dubiously. "Your planet should be fine now."

This question, Kish hesitated to answer. The other Mew Mews' suspicion was more than justified, but he really had no desire to discuss his reasons. It would mean admitting how lonely he'd felt on his own planet; how life as a noble had been both stifling and isolating; how suddenly everyone wanted to be around him and bask in his fame when before the same people wouldn't have given him the time of day; how the elders were always breathing down his throat about acting in a manner befitting his new station; how women both his own age and much older were suddenly interested in cozying up to him as though he were a free meal ticket. The hows went on and on. Rather than say all that, he simply replied, "I just wanted to check in. See how my favorite kitten was getting along with the boy wonder. I really never intended to stay so long."

That much was true, at least.

"I was hesitant to believe him too, but Kish has been a real help to me these past weeks," Ichigo reassured her friends. "It was my idea to disguise him as a human. It made studying together easier." She shifted her weight from her right foot to her left guiltily. "I'm sorry for deceiving you. Originally it was just to trick my mom, but then… well, it just seemed easier to pretend he was a classmate than to explain that our old enemy was tutoring me in math and science."

Kish could see from the expressions of the girls that even though they weren't happy about being kept in the dark, they understood Ichigo's reasoning. They could see why she'd kept the truth from them and they weren't angry. Kish was relieved. This conversation could have gone a lot worse.

"And what about you?" Zakuro turned the group's attention back to him. "You're okay with helping Ichigo get into the same school as Aoyama? After everything that went down last year, you're willing to just brush your animosity aside and help Ichigo and Aoyama have their happy ending?"

A glance at Ichigo showed that she was watching him uncertainly along with the others. Once again, Kish felt uncomfortably put on the spot. He didn't have a good answer to Zakuro's questions. He wasn't okay with it. Not really. But this wasn't about him. It was about Ichigo and what she needed to be happy. He couldn't say that, though. That would be baring too much of his soul. The last time he'd been honest about his own feelings, he'd been burned. That was a rejection he didn't want to endure twice.

"It's got nothing to do with Ichigo's cookie-cutter gingerbread boy," he answered at last, making a show of being flippant about the matter. "I just couldn't stand to see something being a bigger inconvenience in Ichigo's life than me. I have a reputation to uphold, y'know?"

"What a relief to hear that you still live to be useless," Mint said flatly. Pretending to dust off her hands, she added, "Well, whatever. As long as you're not planning to cause any trouble, I guess it's alright if you stay."

"I wonder if we should inform Shirogane-san?" Lettuce said, bringing a hand to her cheek unsurely.

"Before that, we should ask him if we should be concerned about that earthquake." Now that the matter of Kish's true identity was resolved, Ichigo fell naturally back into her role as leader.

The other Mew Mews nodded, and as a group, they turned around and began heading for Ueno Station. Kish was unsure whether or not to follow them, but Ichigo resolved his dilemma by calling back to him. "Kish, you fly around and make sure nothing in the city was too badly damaged. If you see anything suspicious, let us know, okay?"

Kish nodded reluctantly and briefly made sure there were no civilians watching before teleporting up into the sky.

 _Well_ , he thought to himself as he hovered in the chilly air high above the park. _That went well, I'd say._ He snorted halfway between amusement and bemusement and then turned his attention to the matter at hand.

He sighed as he scanned the concrete jungle that stretched out in every direction below him. Tokyo was a big city. He had his work cut out for him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for this chapter being kinda short. I had to split it in half because the original was waaaay too long. Enjoy!

_It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting._

–Paulo Coelho

o0o

Kish spent two hours searching from the sky, but he found nothing supernatural to explain the sudden quake. It looked like it had been a perfectly normal earth tremor. There was some damage here and there around the city, but aside from a problematic sinkhole in a suburb on the Chiba side, most accidents were minor. Kish himself had caused far more destruction a year ago with his chimera animas. It didn't seem like the Mew Mews would be needed this time.

After his patrol, he met up with Ichigo and Lettuce outside the café to relay his findings. They were quick to inform him that their boss hadn't found anything either. Kish was privately glad. The last thing Ichigo needed was some ill-timed paranormal disaster to distract her from her exam.

"It's weird, though," the redhead declared as they sat in Doutor later for their usual pre-Aoyama study session. " _Normal_ disasters never happen to us. Ever since you aliens showed up, every iota of devastation has been your doing."

"I'm quite sure I had nothing to do with it this time," he replied somewhat distractedly as he looked over her trigonometry homework. "You should check number thirty-four again."

Ichigo took the paper from him and he saw her eyes travel to the problem in question. "Drat. I always make the same dumb mistake with this formula." She scrubbed her work away with her small, pink eraser and proceeded to redo the problem. "Anyway, I'm just saying that the entire year you were gone was _peaceful_. And now that you're back, suddenly a huge earthquake hits Tokyo. It's as if Mother Nature saw that you were back and was like ' _how do I top that?'_ "

Kish laughed as he stole the paper back and looked over her work again. "Mother Nature's gonna have to try harder than that." He reached the end of the page and nodded approvingly. Everything checked out. He handed the paper back to her.

Ichigo scoffed as she stowed the paper in her folder. "By the way," she said, her expression brightening, "you're all set to take the entrance exam for Hibiya. I talked to Akasaka-san and he made the arrangements. He even invented a cover story for you and took care of your student details."

Kish's mouth formed an 'o' of surprise before lengthening into a grin. "I guess I'll have to thank him. Let's hope I know enough about Japanese history to pass or he'll have gone to all that trouble for nothing."

Ichigo smiled and reached across the table to pat his arm. "You're going to do fine. What year did Tokugawa I-can't-find-you become Shogun?"

Kish's grin widened. "1603."

Ichigo matched his grin and clasped his hand. "We've got this."

Kish felt as though he were smiling from ear to ear as they shook their clasped hands once and then released them to bump their fists together.

As he watched Ichigo hurry home a half hour later to have her usual study date with the brat, Kish thought he'd never been happier. He had no doubt Ichigo would pass. She was more than ready. For a few moments, he indulged in a fantasy of attending school with her. He understood now the ache of wanting to go to school with the person you love. If he went to Hibiya, he'd get to continue to see Ichigo every day. He could live like a human—have friends and join a club and go shopping on the weekends and do all those normal, young people things. It would be a terrifically mundane life compared with what he'd be leaving behind, but what was fame and wealth when inside you're empty?

Kish let out a long breath as he stepped out into the night and it misted out in front of his face in a large, white cloud. He watched it dissipate into the darkness. If only it were that easy, he lamented. If only he could forget his duty to his planet and remain on Earth with Ichigo. But the truth was, he wasn't in a position to choose. His new rank came with responsibilities that he wasn't permitted to shirk. If he didn't go back, they'd send someone to retrieve him. The elders were just so damn _fussy_ when it came to rules and expectations.

Still, he would take the exam. He would live in this fantasy for as long as his other life would permit him to.

Shoving his hands into his jacket pockets, Kish willed his legs to carry him in the direction of Ichigo's neighborhood. Perhaps he would go play in the park while he waited for her session with Aoyama to finish.

o0o

Two hours later, as Kish sat at Ichigo's low table snacking on cookies and trying to interpret a famous poem from the Heian period, he was distracted for the umpteenth time by Ichigo, who instead of concentrating on her studies like usual was sitting motionlessly and staring down at her notebook blankly.

Kish quirked an eyebrow as he paused his work to watch her. Ever since he'd met up with her again after her hour and a half with Aoyama, she'd seemed distracted. Perhaps she and the brat had had some sort of disunity? _No,_ he immediately dismissed the notion. _She'd be much more upset if that were the case_. He narrowed his eyes and squinted at her as if that would help him to see to the root of his favorite Mew Mew's odd behavior.

Ichigo must have felt his eyes on her because her own eyes flicked up to meet his and her eyebrow twitched at the blatant way he was staring at her. "W-what?" she stammered defensively.

Kish didn't do her the courtesy of looking away. "You seem troubled," he said frankly. "Did something happen?"

Ichigo looked startled for half a moment and then she hurriedly shook her head. "No! No. Nothing happened. Of course not."

Kish regarded her with overt suspicion.

"Really," she insisted. "It was a perfectly normal study session. Masaya-kun did ask about my tutoring with you—well, with Keisuke—and I mentioned how you've been a big help, but mostly we just studied like we always do."

Kish hummed disappointedly and dropped his face into his palms. "No drama, then? Laaaame."

Ichigo reached across the table to shove him halfheartedly.

"Then what's got you all broody?" he prodded. "Worried about the exam?"

Ichigo pursed her lips and seemed to consider her answer before saying, "…Maybe. Mm, yeah. That's probably it. This stupid exam's got my brain all frazzled. I'll be happy when it's over so everything can go back to normal."

Kish hummed again and tapped his cheek with a finger. "Normal? Pah. Entirely overrated. And anyway, I don't believe for a minute that you won't miss seeing my handsome face every day." He gave her his most obnoxious and exaggerated wink.

Instead of scoffing and shoving him, Ichigo surprised him by laughing. "You must be losing your touch, because—and again, I'll probably regret saying this—you're right. These study sessions have been nice and I've learned way more than I ever would've on my own. I have no one to thank but you for that."

Kish's cheeks pinkened and he looked down at the table to hide his blush. He was still woefully unused to being on the receiving end of gratitude from Ichigo. _I really must be losing my touch if she can ruffle me this easily._ He was about to cover up his bashfulness with his usual bravado when Ichigo spoke again.

"Actually… if I'm being honest, there _has_ been something on my mind. I was just thinking that I've acted pretty unfairly toward you. You know just about everything there is to know about me, but I've never asked you about yourself even once." The corners of her mouth fell and Kish felt immediately guilty for unwittingly erasing her smile. "For example, why were you chosen to come to our planet out of the probably hordes of soldiers your planet could've sent? What have you been up to this past year since you returned home? How are your people? I never asked anything."

Kish was surprised by Ichigo's sudden inquisitiveness. It was as she said, she hadn't ever asked any of those things and he'd never expected her to. That was just how their relationship was. She'd never been interested in him or his people before. "Are you curious?" he posed. "I can tell you, if you'd like."

She nodded. "If you don't mind. I'd like to know."

Kish swiped another cookie and popped it into his mouth. He used the time it took to chew and swallow to deliberate about where to start. "Well, then. I guess I'll begin by answering your first question. Actually, I wasn't chosen at all. I volunteered to come to Earth."

"You… volunteered?" Ichigo repeated, looking taken aback.

Kish nodded. "How do I explain this in a way that will make sense?" He lifted his head from his palms and brought his knees up to his chest to wind his arms around them. "It would be simplest just to say that I hated humans and leave it at that—and that's true; I did hate humans for ruining the planet that my kind was forced to leave behind. But that's not really it. I felt like I _had_ to join the mission to reclaim Earth. It was my chance to redeem myself in the eyes of my people by separating myself from my parents who had dishonored themselves by opposing the plan to punish the humans and take our planet back. Because of their refusal to condone the mission, they were cast out into the wastes and I was left as a child to fend for myself. My whole life, I thought, 'if only humans didn't exist, I wouldn't have lost everything.' I resented my parents for choosing their ideals over me—over their own lives. I projected my hurt feelings onto humanity and thought that if I could be the one to wipe the humans out, my people would forgive the sins of my parents and I wouldn't have to live as an outcast anymore."

As he spoke, Ichigo's expression transformed from one of curiosity to shock, and by the time he was finished, she looked horrified. "That…" she started but had to stop when she could find no words. "I never knew you…" She made a motion to reach for him but she seemed to decide better of it and twined her fingers in her lap instead. "Kish, that's horrible."

Kish laid his chin atop his knees and smiled wryly. "That's life on my planet. Conditions are harsh so everyone has to band together to survive. The council of elders decides all important matters and everyone is expected to comply with the decisions they make. Those who think differently—that is, dissenters—are seen as having chosen to forsake the system that keeps everyone safe and are subsequently removed before they can become a danger. Children of dissenters, such as myself, are allowed to stay since the number of children on my planet is very small, but they generally face terrible social ostracization. To be honest, I got off pretty easy compared to some."

Ichigo's eyebrows came together in an angry scrunch. "That's barbaric."

Kish shrugged. "It's what happens when the mortality rate is high and society is barely holding together," he explained. "But that's in the past now. Thanks to you Mew Mews letting us take Mew Aqua back with us, our planet is changing. The sun no longer harms our skin and the water no longer poisons our bodies and the sandy wastes have begun retreating. Right before I left, we finally made the push to start building on the surface. Soon, kids will be able to grow up under the sun instead of spending their whole lives cooped up in gloomy caves." He reached across the table and took Ichigo's hand in his. "It's all thanks to you, Ichigo."

Ichigo shook her head vigorously and pulled her hand away. "No. I can't possibly take any credit for that. I didn't even have the slightest clue that your people were suffering so badly. The whole time, I was only thinking about my own planet. I—I thought the aliens deserved whatever they got for trying to take the Earth away from us. I never even tried to understand."

It was Kish's turn to shake his head. "Whether you meant to or not, you saved us. And more than that, you helped me let go of my hatred. Last year, I was in such a mixed-up state that I stopped being able to tell the difference between right and wrong." He cleared his throat and looked away bashfully. "I've done a lot of looking back this past year and I'm embarrassed by how I acted. It's no wonder that you were more interested in getting rid of me than listening to me."

Ichigo said nothing to that. He knew she was reflecting on her own actions back then. Now that they were talking like this, he regretted more than ever that neither of them had been willing to listen to the other a year ago. Perhaps if they'd put their heads together, they could have found a solution to his people's problem that didn't involve him causing so much pain and destruction. But that wasn't what happened and he had to be satisfied just knowing that one way or another everything had worked out in the end.

"You haven't talked about what you've been up to this past year yet," Ichigo said, finally breaking the silence. "Were you able to earn back your place in society?"

A corner of Kish's mouth quirked upward. "Yeah, I was. Me and Pie and Tart have been living like kings. We have everything: money, power, influence… even the elders can't boss us around as much as they wish they could. Everything is different now."

Ichigo frowned bemusedly. "And yet, you came back to Earth."

"And yet, I came back," he agreed.

Ichigo stared hard at him but didn't ask him to elaborate. They both knew what he would say.

"Well, now you know my story," he broke the silence. He made a show of stretching his arms over his head. "Were your heartstrings tugged by my tale of woe? Do you feel like extending to this poor alien the comfort of your embrace?"

Ichigo gave him a suffering look which Kish could tell was only half genuine. She didn't answer and instead started packing up her books. "It's getting late. Let's stop here for today." She looked back up at him and offered a smile that was just a tad warmer than usual. "Thanks for your help, as always."

Kish returned her smile with a small, teasing smirk. "Of course, honey." He floated to his feet in preparation to leave. "Just two more days till the exam. I'll wait for you at the usual place tomorrow."

Ichigo nodded and stood as well. He thought she planned to escort him to the door, but instead she circumvented the study table to stand before him. Nobody was more surprised than him when she promptly enveloped his middle in a tight embrace.

Kish gaped down at the top of her head which rested against his chest. He was so caught off guard by the unexpected gesture of affection that he didn't know how to react. "Ichigo, what—?

"You earned a hug. Just this once," she explained. Her voice was slightly muffled by the fabric of his shirt.

Kish's eyebrows shot up at her words, but then his expression relaxed and he took the chance to wrap his arms around her shoulders and hold her. It was better than he'd ever dreamed, having her willingly in his arms. He took a moment to relish in it, for once utterly quiet. He wouldn't ruin this moment with snarky comments.

Far too soon, Ichigo pulled away. Kish had to stop himself from pouting.

"Thank you, Kish. Truly. I'm sorry I never listened to you before." She looked up at him with tender eyes. The look in them made his heart squeeze in a way that was both pleasant and uncomfortable.

"Don't be sorry," he brushed off her apology with a wave of his hand. "And you can thank me by passing the exam on Wednesday."

Ichigo smiled. Her expression was full of confidence. "Let's do our best." She held out her fist to him.

Kish's own fingers curled into a fist and he bumped them together. "For Hibiya."


	6. Chapter 6

_If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us._

—Hermann Hesse

o0o

The final days leading up to the exam passed quickly. In what seemed like no time at all, 'Keisuke' found himself accompanying Ichigo and Aoyama to Hibiya High School where the full day of exams would take place. Today, at long last, all their hard work would be put to the test.

It was a little strange to finally meet Aoyama as Keisuke. Kish stood by somewhat awkwardly as Ichigo introduced him as her tutor and talked about how helpful and patient he'd been in explaining the concepts and equations she'd been struggling with. Aoyama regarded him with curiosity and a small amount of confusion. "I didn't realize there was a Keisuke in our grade," he remarked, bringing a hand to his chin and looking thoughtful, like he was trying to place Kish's face.

"Ah, I do a lot of traveling with my parents so I'm often absent from school," Kish hurriedly covered himself.

To both his and Ichigo's relief, Aoyama accepted this explanation readily enough and asked no more questions, though Kish did occasionally catch the other boy examining his face like he was still trying to work out where he might have seen 'Keisuke' before. Kish was careful to walk ahead of his love rival so that Aoyama couldn't accidentally catch a glimpse of his sharp canines as he talked with Ichigo.

When they reached the school, they encountered a swarm of other students all wearing uniforms from various junior high schools around Tokyo. These would be the best and the brightest from each of their schools and they certainly looked the part. Their uniforms were clean and pressed and they were all on their best behavior, each student trying his or her hardest to make a good impression. The three of them joined their ranks, and soon they were being efficiently herded indoors for a long day of exams. Just before they were separated, Kish felt a grip on his hand and he turned to look at Ichigo inquisitively. She brought their clasped hands up between them and gave his a squeeze. "Do your best."

Kish grinned and gave her hand a return squeeze. "Same to you, Ichigo."

Ichigo's cheeks pinkened visibly at his rare use of her name and then she was being whisked away to the classroom where she would take her exam. Kish saw Aoyama tilt his head curiously at their interaction out of the corner of his eye but he didn't have time to dwell on the other boy because he and Aoyama were being ushered to their own classrooms.

Thanks to all his and Ichigo's studying, the exam wasn't difficult so much as it was a test of endurance. Kish breezed through the math and science and even history portions, though the literature portion had him working all the way to the final chime. As he plugged numbers into formulas and filled in answers, Kish's mind wandered to Ichigo who was doing the same thing somewhere down the hall. Was she nervous, he wondered, or was she calm? He smiled to himself as he encountered the formula she always flubbed and he wondered if she would remember to write the minus symbol outside the parentheses like he always reminded her to.

Five tests and a group interview later, the exams were finally over. All the time and effort they'd put into preparing for this day would be weighed by the examiners and the results sent to them in a few weeks. It seemed to Kish an awful lot of preparation for something over so quickly. His brain was still trying to catch up with the fact that the tests were in fact over and done as he exited the school with the other members of his interview group.

Outside, Aoyama had already finished and was waiting near the gate. Kish's eyes settled on the form of his rival and he strongly considered turning around and finding another place to wait for Ichigo, but that was something Kish would do, not Keisuke, so he exhaled a short, put-upon sigh and dragged his feet over to join Aoyama by the gate.

Aoyama greeted him with a friendly smile and a wave. _Typical goody-goody nice guy_ , Kish grumbled in the privacy of his mind as he settled against the gatepost beside the other boy. Still, he managed to dredge up some semblance of a smile in order not to appear rude. He hoped Ichigo would come out quickly. Aoyama had that look about him that said he would attempt to make polite conversation and that was the furthest thing from what Kish wanted right now. Or ever, for that matter.

Kish was caught quite off guard, then, when instead of remarking on the weather or other such empty drivel, he heard Aoyama's soft voice say, "You don't like me much, do you."

Kish blinked and looked at the dark-haired youth with an expression of confusion. How on earth had he deduced such a thing when they'd hardly said two words to each other all day? Kish couldn't think of any hints he might have let slip that morning. He'd been on his best behavior. "What makes you say that?" he asked carefully.

Aoyama smiled softly down at the ground. He rolled a small pebble under the toe of his boot. "I can tell," he answered simply. "Your aura is hostile. You see me as an obstacle."

Kish quirked an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. So much for light conversation. "Are you some kind of psychic?" he asked dryly. If Aoyama had already figured out his true feelings, he saw no reason to cover them up.

Aoyama shook his head. He was still wearing that soft smile. Kish hated it. "No. Just, I've felt the same way as you in the past, so I can tell." He lifted his head to gaze wistfully at the entrance to the school. "Ichigo is a very special girl. Her compassion and courage are tremendous. She charms everyone she meets. I can't possibly fault you for developing feelings for her."

Kish said nothing to that. He didn't need to waste breath confirming what both of them already knew.

"I love Ichigo," Aoyama said, finally looking at him. His deep brown eyes were calm. "I have for a long time. I have few wishes in this world, but to see her safe and happy is definitely the first and foremost of them. I wanted her to find that happiness with me, but lately I feel as though she's been drifting away from me." He regarded Kish with a look that was pointed but not angry. He seemed to be waiting for Kish to say something. Either to defend himself or otherwise.

Kish just scoffed and looked away. "If you're worried about Ichigo leaving you for me, don't be. She made her feelings clear a long time ago. And besides, the whole reason she took the exam today was because of you. She wants to be with you."

Aoyama hummed low in his throat and looked back at the doors the girl in question had yet to emerge from. "Ichigo is young. She has room yet in her heart for many kinds of love. I just wonder if the kind she feels for me is the same as what I feel for her."

Kish felt a sudden rush of annoyance at his rival's words. Was this really the boy he'd lost to a year ago? He focused back on Aoyama's face and narrowed his eyes. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds an awful lot like you're giving up at the first sign of adversity. Say I did harbor some dastardly plan to steal her away from you. Were you just going to let her go without putting up any kind of fight?"

Aoyama didn't turn his face from the door. He seemed completely unruffled by Kish's accusation. "Did you know that Ichigo is still reluctant to act like herself around me?" he asked in lieu of answering. "We've been together for over a year, but she doesn't come to me with her problems. She tries to act like an adult around me because she thinks that's what I want. She's afraid to show the real Ichigo to me because she believes I won't accept her." He finally tore his gaze from the school to look back at Kish. His smile was sad. "But you're different. She never tries to hide from you. She doesn't fear rejection from you. She trusts you with the ugliest parts of her. I can't compete with that."

Kish's jaw slackened as he was blindsided by Aoyama's confession. Masaya Aoyama, Ichigo's perfect, can-do-no-wrong boyfriend, thought that he was being outcompeted by him. It was a claim almost outlandish enough to distract Kish from the oddly knowing way in which he'd said it. Almost. He recovered his composure and his eyes flashed as he regarded the boy next to him. "You figured it out, huh? Guess I should've known better than to try to pull a fast one over _his excellency_."

Aoyama's mouth dipped into a frown and he exhaled in a manner that sounded too old and tired coming from a face so young. "I'm not Deep Blue, Kish."

Kish smiled wickedly, showing off his sharp canines. "I know. If you were, I'd have already put my swords through you." He flexed his fingers demonstratively. The threat was an empty one and they both knew it. "But you're wrong. About Ichigo, I mean. She's only ever had eyes for you. I gave up trying to win her heart a long time ago."

Aoyama chuckled. The sound contained little mirth. "That so."

The two of them stood in silence for a drawn-out moment, neither quite wanting to continue the current line of conversation. It was an odd moment of solidarity between the two males. Finally, Kish broke it by asking, "How'd you figure out it was me, anyway? I thought I was doing a pretty good job throwing people off."

Aoyama smiled for real at his question. "It took some time," he admitted. "I could tell right away that you weren't human, but I couldn't figure out why an alien I'd never met before had come to Earth and was shadowing Ichigo. I didn't expect you to come back."

Kish nodded at that. "It's only temporary. I'll have to return soon." For reasons he couldn't explain, Kish was finding it surprisingly easy to talk to Aoyama. Perhaps it was because Aoyama was the only one who could understand his position. Or, perish the thought, perhaps it was because the two of them really weren't so different after all. Kish elected not to follow that line of thought any further.

Finally, the doors of the school opened and a group of students filed out. Among them, Kish was quick to spot Ichigo's perky red ponytails. The two males abruptly broke off their conversation and turned their attention to the beat-looking Mew Mew.

Ichigo's whole body drooped in fatigue as she dragged her feet over to them. "That was the longest and most punishing thing I've ever done," she moaned as she joined them at the gate. "I just barely made the cut for today's interviews. Thank goodness I did, because I really didn't want to have to come back again tomorrow."

Aoyama laughed and Kish grinned lopsidedly. "How do you feel?" he asked as they began the long trek home. "Confident?"

Ichigo smiled brightly and her whole form visibly perked up. "It went _way_ better than I thought it would," she said, all her former weariness gone from her voice. "I think I might actually have a shot, and that's something I _never_ thought I'd say."

Aoyama laid a hand on her shoulder with a soft smile. He gave it a gentle squeeze. "You worked hard for today."

Ichigo looked up at him fondly. Kish dragged his eyes away as she returned her boyfriend's smile with a heartfelt one of her own.

By the time they reached Ichigo's house it was well past dark. Ichigo's eyes lit up as her front door came into view. A delicious smell wafted from the house. The perky redhead clapped her hands together and she smiled broadly. "I totally forgot that mom promised to make beef stew tonight. Score!"

"I'm sure your parents will be wanting to hear all about how the exam went," Aoyama said. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at the door with that ever-present soft smile of his.

Kish stepped forward and placed a hand on the small of her back, shoving her gently toward the door. "Go give 'em the good news," he instructed with a grin.

Ichigo nodded and moved to grab the door handle, then she paused. Turning back around, she gave the two boys her most dazzling smile and said, "Thank you. Both of you. Whether I pass or not, today wouldn't have gone nearly as well as it did without your help."

Aoyama merely smiled and shook his head and Kish made a shooing motion with his hand. "Just go and enjoy your dinner."

Ichigo nodded again and her hand found the door handle. A moment later, the door closed behind her, leaving the two boys alone in the cold night.

Kish shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded to Aoyama. "Welp. I'll be seeing you, I guess."

Aoyama regarded him with his usual neutral expression. His eyes were calm. Kish thought he would merely nod and take his leave, but then he opened his mouth and said, "If you don't mind answering a question for me before you go, I'd like to know: how are our people faring?"

Kish raised an eyebrow. Of all the things Aoyama could've said in that moment, that was the furthest from what Kish expected. He cocked his head to the side and crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine," he answered simply. "Mew Aqua worked as advertised. The quality of life on our planet has improved a lot."

Aoyama's eyes softened and he nodded. "I'm glad." He lifted his chin and turned his gaze upward to the star-choked heavens. He watched the night sky with fondness, as if he could see past the cluster of galaxies straight to where Kish's planet lay. "You know, in the beginning, Deep Blue really did just want a better life for our kind. I know it's hard to believe after everything he did, but I can tell you that's the truth."

Kish just shrugged and said, "Yeah?"

Aoyama's small smile fell away and he turned back to Kish. "I guess telling you that doesn't really change anything. I'm not trying to justify what he did or what happened to your parents. I just thought you might like to know."

Kish's eyes narrowed and he cast his gaze to the concrete. "So, Deep Blue knew about that, too. And here I thought his servants were all the same to him."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aoyama shake his head. "He didn't like to be caught unaware," he explained.

Kish sighed and lifted his head. He felt suddenly weary. This wasn't a topic he harbored much love for, and as Aoyama said, it's not like knowing any of this would change things. But he supposed he did appreciate his old enemy's thoughtfulness in explaining himself. "Well, in any case, it's a matter of the past now. The usurper has been put down and my people are safe. There's no point in dwelling on it."

Aoyama's smile returned. He dipped his head in gratitude. "Thank you."

Kish raised his arms behind his head and made a show of looking bored with the conversation. "If that's all you had to say, then I'll be going now. It's cold out here and I'm tired."

Aoyama nodded. "Until next time, then."

Kish turned to go but threw his rival a parting wave over his shoulder. "Sure."

Not looking back, he took to the skies and made for the unoccupied house that had become his temporary residence. He was looking forward to taking a nice long bath after a grueling day of tests.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last, the exam has been taken. Now we wait to see how our favorite duo did.
> 
> Bet y'all weren't expecting this to be an Aoyama chapter. Poor guy has been kept on the periphery of this story up till now. I ended up really enjoying writing his and Kish's interactions in this chapter. I think my respect for him has grown. Just a little. (And so has Kish's.)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you again next week.


	7. Chapter 7

_Try new things and discover yourself every single day._

–Bhavya Choudhary

o0o

The week following the exam was probably the most peaceful of Kish's life. His and Ichigo's study sessions having naturally come to an end, Kish spent the days largely lazing around his house during the day and then going to the café to visit with the Mew Mews in the afternoon after they finished school.

Now that his secret was out, Ichigo's friends had begun stopping by his table to talk with him at intervals throughout their shift. To his surprise, they were full of questions about his home planet and the wellbeing of his people. Lettuce in particular was quite eager to know all about his people's society and she asked many questions pertaining to its government, education and economy. Kish noted with some amusement the way her face lit up whenever Pie's name was mentioned and he took a mental memo to tease Pie incessantly about this the next time he saw him.

Of course, Kish's favorite visitor was Ichigo herself. To his delight, she always made time for him during her breaks and occasionally she'd join him at his table when the café wasn't busy. They talked about all manner of things, the topics ranging from Ichigo's day at school to her gripes about her boss being a slave driver to her thoughts about the manga series she was currently reading.

"It's so frustrating," she complained over the top of her book. "Momo-chan should just forget Ringo-kun and go out with Orenji-kun instead."

Kish raised a brow as he sipped on his strawberry soda. "Why's that?"

Ichigo huffed as she turned the page. "Because Ringo's so boring. I liked him a lot at first because he's very sweet and treats Momo-chan well, but ever since he and Momo got together both of their characters have become super flat. She has much better chemistry with Orenji and it's obvious that she has way more fun when she's with him than when she goes out with Ringo."

"Oh?" he questioned as he used the side of his fork to cut a piece off the end of his tart. "Then what's keeping her with Ringo?"

Ichigo turned another page and Kish watched her eyes travel back and forth as she read the dialogue bubbles. "It's because they're childhood friends. Momo's liked Ringo for a long time and it took ages for her to work up the courage to ask him out. I was rooting for them in the beginning, but Orenji is so much better-written that it's hard not to want her to get together with him instead."

Kish chewed on his dessert thoughtfully as he considered Ichigo's frustration. Upon swallowing, he said, "Well, in my experience, girls seem to prefer bland guys." Deciding to leave aside the matter of Ichigo's own bland-as-crackers boyfriend, he leaned forward over the table and raised a hand to hide his mouth from prying eyes before gesturing with his thumb to where Lettuce stood wiping down a table not far away. "I mean, did you know that Lettuce totally has a crush on Pie? _Pie_."

Both of Ichigo's eyebrows shot up. "What? Really?"

Kish nodded. "Totally. And he's the blandest guy I know." He settled back into his seat with a smug look.

Ichigo's eyes travelled briefly to her friend and then back to him. She lifted a hand to her lips in wonder. "I had no idea." Her eyes repeated their path and to his surprise, she asked, "Do you think he likes her back?"

Kish considered this. After a moment, he shook his head and shrugged helplessly. "It's hard to say. Pie is an unstoppable force of apathy."

Ichigo smiled and took a sip of her own drink. "Well, I think they'd be cute together."

Kish furrowed his eyebrows and pointed his fork at her. "Weren't you just complaining about girls liking dull guys?"

"This is different," she defended. "Pie and Lettuce suit one another."

Kish snorted. "Well, I won't argue with that."

Ichigo smiled to herself in a decidedly pleased fashion and Kish could tell that she was imagining her friend going on a date with Pie. He laid down his fork and propped his cheek on his palm to watch her fantasize. Suddenly, Ichigo's eyes widened and she straightened in her seat. "Oh, right!" she exclaimed. "There was something I was supposed to tell you. I nearly forgot."

Kish tilted his head curiously.

"I was thinking that you must be super bored hanging around the café like this all the time, so I talked to Akasaka-san and Shirogane-san and they said they'd be willing to let you work here if you wanted. In exchange for letting Akasaka-san run some tests on you, that is. He wants to know more about Alien physiology. Oh! But it won't be anything too invasive, I promise."

Kish lifted his head in surprise. "Me? Work here?"

Ichigo nodded. "You're always here anyway and it would be good if you had a way to earn some money so you don't have to rely on abductions to get stuff like clothes and groceries."

Kish thought about this. She made a fair point. It did sometimes get boring merely watching Ichigo's day-to-day life like an outsider. Working would give him something to do and also an excuse to stay close to her. It might even be fun. He grinned and waved a hand at her. "Sure. Why not? I guess I can put up with a few tests."

Ichigo smiled brilliantly and stood from her chair. "Great! I'll go tell Akasaka-san right away." She grabbed her manga from where she'd deposited it on the table and pushed her chair in before hurrying away.

Kish watched her run off with a fond smile. To think that he and Ichigo had become this close. He wished they could stay like this forever. He'd never wanted anything so badly.

He exhaled a small sigh and pushed his finished plate to the center of the table. He would just have to content himself with enjoying this while it lasted. Rather, he was determined to. Come what may, he would hang onto this happiness for as long as he could.

o0o

"The uniform looks good on you," Ichigo said, her approval evident in her tone.

Kish twisted his body left and right to get a good look at himself as his new coworkers stood by. The pink dress shirt was a little off-putting in his opinion but it paired well with the accompanying gray vest and slacks so he supposed he could tolerate it.

Pudding examined him with a bright smile. "You look very classy," she declared with a hand on her chin. "Like you belong in Mint's house."

Mint made a show of covering her nose in disgust. "Please. Like I need a filthy alien for a butler. I'll pass, thank you."

Kish thought about mentioning that on his planet, his rank greatly exceeded hers and she would more likely be the one serving him but ultimately decided it wasn't worth the fight.

Akasaka stepped forward and motioned him toward the kitchen. "Now that you're dressed, I'll show you the ropes. Please come this way."

Kish spent the next hour learning all his new duties, from dishwashing to waiting and bussing tables to how to take out the trash at the end of the day. Kish had never worked in the service industry before but he was no slouch and he picked up everything quickly. By the end of his shift he was able to confidently take and deliver orders and his natural charm made him an instant hit with customers. Initially, he had worried that serving would be boring, but he ended up having a lot of fun. He particularly enjoyed waiting on young women because of the way they blushed and giggled at his flirting.

As they cleaned up the shop at the end of the evening, Ichigo nudged him with an elbow and smirked slyly. "You know, maybe you should consider a career as a host. I bet you'd be popular."

Kish pretended to consider this. "I _am_ overflowing with good looks and charisma," he agreed. He leaned down to wiggle his eyebrows at her and Ichigo pushed him away playfully. "But," he continued, placing his hands on his hips, "playing the field isn't really my style. I'm a one girl kinda guy."

A light flush bloomed on Ichigo's cheeks and she turned her face away to examine the table she was cleaning. She said nothing and Kish regarded her curiously. Her reaction to his flirting was different than usual. Had she grown tired of being baited by his teasing? She didn't look offended, though. Rather, he could almost swear that she looked flustered.

She cleared her throat and said, "Yes, well, in any case, you did a good job today." Looking back at him, she added, "I'll be counting on your help again tomorrow, so don't be late, okay?"

Kish smiled and nudged her with his hip. "I wouldn't dream of it."

o0o

By the end of the week, Kish had well and truly acclimated to working at the café. He zipped around the room, taking orders and delivering cakes and chatting up the clientele. He was a definite hit, and as the days passed, the number of young women visiting the café grew as word of Café Mew Mew's charming new waiter spread around town. Much to his amusement, it seemed that in conjunction with his popularity, rumors about him had begun to spread as well.

"You're Keisuke, right?" a university-aged young woman asked as he finished writing down her table's orders. "Is it true that you're an undercover idol?"

Kish smiled secretively and leaned down to give the girl a wink. "My, if I were, I'd be doing a very poor job at the _undercover_ part if I admitted it, now wouldn't I?"

The girl and her friends broke into a fit of giggles and Kish sashayed away with a satisfied grin. Not ten minutes later, he overheard another table full of young ladies whispering amongst themselves as he passed.

"I heard he's a model from Korea. I watched a program about how the Korean fashion industry is trying to internationalize by sending models to Tokyo to study."

Kish snorted at that and shook his head. How absurd. As if such a person would be found waiting tables alongside junior high schoolers in a small, park-side café. Humans had the strangest notions.

Humans. They were silly and irrational and more trouble than they were worth, but Kish couldn't deny that he was having fun. This past week had been the most enjoyable since he'd landed. For the first time in his life, he felt free and useful and wanted. Not to mention that his relationship with Ichigo and the other Mew Mews was better than ever. He'd fully expected to be treated as an outsider by Ichigo's friends, but they'd actually warmed to him quickly once it became clear that he truly meant no harm. Lettuce and Pudding in particular were very chatty with him and often chose to clean alongside him during closing time to ask questions about his culture. Even Mint could often be found lurking nearby with a curious ear turned to their conversations. Zakuro was the least sociable where he was concerned, but Kish was fairly sure that was just how she was. She preferred to keep to herself and she could rarely be found engaging in idle conversation with anyone, their bosses included.

And then there was Ichigo. He wondered if it wasn't jumping the gun to call her his best friend? They were definitely close. There was no one he enjoyed being with more than her and these days he'd begun to suspect the feeling was mutual. Ichigo sought him out over the other Mew Mews and he was always the last person she said goodbye to before going home for the night. He recalled Aoyama's words from the day of the exam: _She never tries to hide from you. She doesn't fear rejection from you. She trusts you with the ugliest parts of her._ He began to wonder if Aoyama hadn't been speaking the truth about that. It was true that Ichigo showed a different side of herself to him than to Aoyama—and to a certain extent, her teammates as well. He supposed that was because he'd experienced her at her worst time and again as her enemy. There was no point in putting on the face of an angel now. But he liked to think that it was due, at least in part, to her just feeling comfortable around him. He wanted to believe that.

And speaking of Ichigo, that evening as they were closing the shop, she approached him with an unexpected request.

"You know, Kish," she got his attention as he was putting away the last of the dishes. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you." Kish wiped his hands on his apron and cocked his head to show he was listening. "I probably should have asked this a long time ago, but where have you been staying? Do you go back to your ship every night?"

Kish shook his head. "Nah, it's too cramped. I've been staying in a house Pie found the last time we were here. The owners work overseas so there's no risk of being found out. It's actually not that far from you."

He thought Ichigo would reprimand him for using a stranger's home without their permission, but instead she looked interested. "What about utilities? Wouldn't the owners notice paying for electricity and water in a house they don't use?"

Kish grinned. "Pie looked into that. Apparently, the city pays for the house. The couple who own it are high ranking government employees so the property is fully subsidized. A waste of taxpayer money, if you ask me, but I'm not exactly in a position to complain."

It was indeed an excellent deal for him. The house was large, if a little old-fashioned, and fully furnished. It was practically begging for a vagrant like him to take up residence inside. Certainly, it had made for an excellent base of operations for the alien trio a year ago.

Ichigo looked even more interested at this. "You said it's not far from me? If that's the case, then I'd love to take a look sometime. If that's okay with you, of course."

Kish's ears lifted in glee. Ichigo wanted to visit him at his house! Of course he'd be more than happy to host her. It was then that he had a great idea. "Hey, tomorrow is Saturday," he pointed out. "Why don't you and the girls come over? I'll give you the tour and we can have a movie marathon. I've always wanted to experience a movie marathon."

Ichigo's face lit up. "That's a great idea! I have tons of movies. The Mews and I can buy some snacks and then come by in the afternoon. You're sure the owners won't be coming back, right?"

Kish nodded. "Positive. Here, I'll write down directions." He pulled out the notepad from his apron pocket and drew a crude map, labeling the turns and a few landmarks. When he was satisfied that his directions were sufficiently clear, he tore the page from the spiral binding and handed it to her.

Ichigo smiled and slipped the paper into her uniform pocket. "Awesome. I'll go talk to the others. I bet they'll jump at the idea." With that, she turned and hurried away to find their coworkers. Kish watched her race from the kitchen with a fond smile. He was looking forward to tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abrupt ending is abrupt. This chapter was a bit crude in general, I think, but that's transition chapters for you. Despite that, I like this chapter because it's so full of little bondy moments. Ichigo and Kish really feel like friends now. It makes my heart glad. :3


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the delay. I had a busy week. But you get an extra long chapter! Rejoice!

_The only impossible journey is the one you never begin._

—Tony Robbins

o0o

Just as promised, at precisely three o'clock on Saturday, Kish's doorbell rang and he opened the door to a rainbow menagerie of magical girls weighed down with a veritable dragon's hoard of plastic shopping bags. He welcomed them with a grin and warmly invited them inside.

The girls removed their shoes and ventured into the house with expressions of awe. "Quite the place you've got here," Zakuro spoke first, much to Kish's surprise.

"It's so big!" Pudding exclaimed with sparkling eyes. "Perfect for hide and seek!"

The only one who didn't look impressed was Mint. She walked right through to the living room without bothering to look around at all. Kish supposed that compared to her lavish mansion an old-fashioned house like this was nothing special. Well, she could be as snooty as she wanted about somebody else's house. It had nothing to do with him.

Kish started with a tour of the residence. He took the girls around to each room and offered a bit of light commentary about some of the hijinks he, Pie and Tart had gotten up to when they'd all lived here together. Lettuce and Pudding were particularly entertained by these stories and Pudding laughed when he told them about the time he and Tart had tested out color contacts for Pie.

After the tour, Kish enlisted Ichigo and Lettuce's help procuring bowls from the kitchen to hold their snacks while the other girls debated over which movie to watch first. Kish listened to them argue with an amused smile as he tore open chip bags and dumped their contents into the bowls.

"Do you ever do things like this on your planet?" Lettuce asked as she set the microwave to heat a bag of buttered popcorn.

Kish looked over his shoulder at her. "Movie nights?" At her nod, he laughed and shook his head. "Nah. Firstly, we don't have movies. We have the technology to make them, but until recently all our technology was being used to keep ourselves alive. We do occasionally have parties, but…" He trailed off as his brain conjured memories of the lavish galas he'd been forced to attend, particularly since he'd returned from Earth. "Well, they're nothing like this. Only the elite get to go to them and they're more about schmoozing than having a good time. I've never enjoyed them."

Ichigo made a thoughtful noise from the vicinity of the fridge where she was pouring drinks into paper cups. "You said before that you and Pie and Tart have been living the dream-life ever since you returned. Does that mean that you go to parties often?"

Kish fought to smother a grimace at the reminder. "More than I'd like," he answered honestly. "Being a member of the elite comes with a ton of expectations and responsibilities, and one of them is to mingle with the other elites. When you have status, others will inevitable attempt to ride your coattails and that means I'm approached by a lot of people who wanna use me for my wealth and fame. Parties are just that on a grand scale. They're not fun. They're just politics."

"Wow. I had no idea that you and Pie and Tart had to deal with that," Ichigo said, her tone becoming a little less chipper. "I guess it makes sense, seeing how you're the ones who saved your people from the brink of extinction."

Kish shrugged and went back to transferring snacks to bowls. "It's not that I mind the attention. I just don't like how insincere it all is."

Lettuce made a noise of understanding. "Mint has said the same thing before. She said that when you have money and prestige it can be hard to tell who your real friends are."

Kish smiled at that. It sounded like he and Mint had more in common than he'd thought.

"Although," Ichigo chimed in again. Kish looked back in her direction and found a spoon being pointed at him. She sported a raised brow. "You're not exactly the most sincere person yourself. Aren't you just getting a taste of your own medicine?"

Kish blinked at her. She did, quite definitely, have a point. Maybe it was a little hypocritical of him to find fault with others for using deception to get what they wanted. He too lived behind a mask. You did what you needed to in order to survive, and in that sense, everyone was the same. Rather than conceding her point, though, he turned his lips downward in a mock frown and made a show of crossing his arms and shaking his head. "To think _you_ of all people would call me insincere. I'm wounded."

Ichigo jabbed the spoon at him. "That. Right there. That's exactly what I'm talking about."

Lettuce let out a little giggle that sounded like 'fufu'. "But if Kish stopped acting like himself, you wouldn't be able to argue with him anymore."

Kish nodded seriously. "Right. And then what would be left of our relationship? If you remove all my charming quirks I'll be as plain and flavorless as your sponge cake boyfriend."

Ichigo rolled her eyes and turned up her nose with a _humph_. "Masaya-kun's not bland. You just don't know how to appreciate maturity."

Kish snickered at her indignance and went back to filling bowls with snacks. A moment passed and he heard Lettuce open the microwave to retrieve their popcorn. A few minutes later, all the snacks as well as the drinks had been brought to the living room and laid out on the family-sized kotatsu. The girls got comfy under the blanket and Mint started their first movie, an animated film about a girl getting lost in another world and having to work in a bathhouse full of spirits.

The experience of doing something so frivolous was strange for Kish but not unpleasant. The movie was entertaining and even moving at times. The main character reminded him in many ways of Ichigo. She didn't have any special skills and she complained a whole heckuva lot, but she tried her best, and in the end, she was able to save her family and the people she cared about.

If Ichigo was the girl, then he wondered if maybe he was a little like the boy. Serving an entity bent on perfect control; willing to sacrifice his morals for power; trying to return to the place he belonged. The one difference was that the boy in the movie was able to earn the love of the heroine. There wasn't an Aoyama to take her away from him. Looking over at Ichigo, he could see distress on her face as the girl was forced to leave the boy in the spirit world. Kish wondered if Ichigo saw herself in the heroine and if so, if it was Aoyama she saw in the boy. _At least she doesn't have to worry about Aoyama leaving her behind_.

Mint popped the movie out of the DVD player and inserted the second. Kish grabbed a handful of popcorn and sat back to watch.

o0o

* * *

They made it through four movies. Kish was so entranced that he could've gone for a fifth, but it was getting late and the girls were running out of steam. Pudding had already faded and was snoozing soundly under the kotatsu's blanket. Lettuce was the one to finally call it a night and the girls got to work clearing away the bowls and throwing out empty cups and wrappers. In no time at all, the room was nearly spotless. All that remained were a few wayward crumbs on the tatami.

"You guys can go ahead and go home," Ichigo told them, stifling a yawn. "I'll stay behind and take care of the vacuuming."

Zakuro tossed her a look of concern. "Are you sure you're alright? If you're too tired, I don't mind doing it."

Ichigo shook her head. "I'll be fine. I live the closest anyhow."

It was sound reasoning and the other Mew Mews accepted it with a chorus of nods and "Sorry, Ichigo"s. Ichigo shooed them off while Kish located the vacuum.

Vacuuming took only a few minutes and Kish helped by lifting the kotatsu blanket and scooting the couch back. When Ichigo was done, she dropped onto the aforementioned piece of furniture and let out a tired sounding breath. "Whew. I'm beat," she declared, closing her eyes.

Kish grinned and plopped down beside her. "Oh, so battling me barely winds you but a little vacuuming has you ready to pass out? Gee, thanks."

Ichigo laughed and swatted him half-heartedly. "It's late. I've never been much of a night-owl."

Kish quirked a brow in confusion. "Night-owl?"

"Someone who enjoys staying up late," she clarified. "You know, 'cause owls are nocturnal."

Kish had had no idea what an owl was, but he got the idea. "Tell you what. How about I make you some tea? If you drink some caffeine before you leave it might keep you from keeling over on the way to your house."

Ichigo smiled but didn't open her eyes. "Thanks, Kish. You're a nice guy."

Kish raised an eyebrow briefly and then grinned, his lips pulling over his sharp canines. "I'm not gonna let you forget you said that."

This time, Ichigo cracked an eye open to look at him sidelong. She must have decided that retorting would take too much effort, though, because she merely grunted and sank further into the couch.

Kish smiled to himself and padded over to the kitchen to brew the tea. There was silence as he filled a kettle with water and set it over the stove. He recalled that it had taken Tart nearly ten minutes to figure out how to make the burners work when they'd stayed here before. Kish had snickered at him the whole time as he turned knobs and became increasing dismayed when the spark kept immediately going out. Eventually, Pie had come over to see what all the fuss was about. He'd taken one look at the device and informed Tart that he had to wait for the spark to catch before turning the dial back. Pie had always been the most mechanically savvy of the three of them.

When the water finally came to a boil, Kish dumped a small spoonful of green tea powder into a cup and then filled it from the kettle. He placed the cup on a tray and brought it out to the living room. When he reentered, he found Ichigo still sitting with her eyes closed. He wondered if she'd fallen asleep.

He set the tray on the kotatsu and then shook Ichigo's shoulder gently. "Hey, Kitty Cat. Your tea's ready."

Ichigo stirred and cracked open her eyes. "Huh? Oh." She pulled her body into a proper sitting position and took the cup Kish held out to her. Rather than drink it, she merely held it in her lap as her large eyes blinked slowly. Kish was about to remind her that the tea was there to be drunk, not just to look pretty, but then her eyes shifted up to him and she surprised him by saying. "You really do look human, you know."

Kish regarded her with confusion. Without really thinking about it, his hand rose to his dyed, unbound hair. He still hadn't gotten it cut and now the tips were creeping down toward his shoulders. It was shaggy and uneven and would never pass the elders' scrutiny on his own planet but here on Earth he supposed it qualified as a look.

"It's nearly February. We'll be getting the results of our exams back soon," she continued when he said nothing. "You're gonna stay, right? Here on Earth?"

Something in Kish's chest tightened at her question. It was probably about time he told her the truth. That he wouldn't be able to stay much longer. That his people would come for him sooner or later. If it were up to him, he'd never go home, but he had responsibilities that he couldn't continue to shirk forever. He knew he ought to tell her, but a part of him had always been a coward and it was that part that answered. "Don't tell me you've grown fond of me? You're losing your bite, Kitten."

His teasing had the desired effect and Ichigo seemed to forget her question in favor of getting riled. "Fond of _you?_ Don't flatter yourself, alien nerd."

Kish sniggered and flopped back on the couch beside her. "Don't forget that it was thanks to this nerd that you were able to prepare for your test."

Ichigo shot him a bland look and took a sip of her tea. She was quiet for a time as she slowly enjoyed the beverage, blowing on the top in intervals to cool it. Kish let her drink in peace, opting to sit quietly for once. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, letting his gaze linger momentarily on her dark red hair pinned up in pigtails, then moving to her eyes which stared off at nothing in particular. She appeared to be lost in thought. The silence between them persisted for a generous handful of seconds before Ichigo broke it by asking a question he wasn't at all prepared for.

"Hey, Kish. What are you, exactly?"

If Kish had been holding a cup of tea he might've dropped it, such was his surprise at Ichigo's unexpected inquiry. "Huh?" was all he could muster in response.

Ichigo's eyes flicked back to him. "I mean your race. We've just been calling you aliens, but what kind of species are you? You've always been pretty adamant about not being like us dirty humans but you look like us and talk like us and share a diet with us, so I wonder what exactly about you is different?"

Ah. So, that's what she meant. Kish took a moment to consider how to explain it to her. "Well," he said, "we're aliens. Believe it or not, that's actually how we refer to ourselves."

Ichigo blinked at him in amazement. "What? Really?"

Kish nodded. "You know already that our kind was originally from this planet. In that sense, you could call us the original Earthlings. But there was a period in this planet's history where the Earth became uninhabitable and we were forced to leave. At that time, we ventured into space and found a new planet to live on; the one we call our home today. But of course, there were already things living there when we arrived. We were outsiders—literal aliens—so that's how we began referring to ourselves. Eventually, I guess enough time passed that we forgot our species' original name."

"So, you're really just… aliens," Ichigo said, still sounding bewildered. "That's nuts."

Kish laughed. "I guess it does seem kinda weird now that I think about it. We've been calling ourselves aliens for so long that nobody ever thinks of it as strange. As for our biology, I can't really say how different we are, to be honest. Maybe there was a time when we were just like you. Our historical records are patchy, at best. The more I study you humans, the more I begin to wonder if your kind isn't just what became of those we left behind. Maybe all that separates us is a few million years of evolution."

"A few million years…" Ichigo repeated. "Does that make us close or not? I can't even tell."

Kish laughed again. "Well, anatomically, we're pretty similar, right? We have all the same organs in the same places. We reason the same and build relationships the same. Of course, the ultimate test of whether or not we qualify as the same species is if we can breed and produce fertile offspring…" He trailed off meaningfully and his lips pulled upward wickedly when Ichigo's face turned beet red. He was forced to dodge to the side when she lobbed a throw pillow at his face. "Hey, I'm just speaking scientifically," he defended. "You're as easy to rile as ever."

Ichigo crossed her legs and looked pointedly away from him. "Jeez. I don't know why I put up with you."

"My winning personality and dashing good looks, I imagine. But I don't know, you tell me."

Ichigo threw him a look over her shoulder. "Just when I was starting to think I'd misjudged you…"

Kish grinned and waved a hand mollifyingly. "You're cute, Kitty. It's not like I'm looking for kids yet, anyway." He leaned forward and gently gripped her chin with his pale fingers, turning her face back to his. "I'm satisfied with kisses."

Ichigo's cheeks flushed just like in the kitchen the evening before and she pulled away from his touch. "You're shameless," she informed him without heat.

"On the contrary, Kitten. I have plenty of shame. Out of curiosity, though," he said, changing the subject. "Why the sudden interest?

Ichigo looked away at the floor and shook her head. "No reason, really. I guess… I was just curious."

Kish cocked his own head and studied her profile, hoping perhaps to glean something more from her expression. Her cheeks were still pink as she examined the patch of tatami beneath the kotatsu. He thought she wouldn't say any more, but to his surprise, she deigned to elaborate.

"I mean, you're always insisting that you have feelings for me. But you're an alien and I'm, you know, a human." She looked back up at him and her expression was slightly guarded, but he didn't see anything like disgust or resentment in it. "And I'm in a relationship with Masaya-kun, who's also one of you. I guess it's always been at the back of my mind—can a human and an alien really find happiness together? I want to believe that it's possible, but it's hard to trust that without knowing the science, y'know?"

Kish blinked down at her and shook his head. He was honestly baffled at hearing such a line of questioning coming from Ichigo. "Am I actually hearing Miss "Follow-my-heart" worry about a trifling detail like biology?"

Ichigo's cheeks flared red again and she shot him a look. "Don't patronize me, jerk."

Kish laughed. Ichigo's flustered expression was irresistibly adorable. God, he loved her. He just loved everything about her. So much that his heart hurt simply having this conversation with her. "I'm not," he denied. "But it's a silly thing to worry about. Ichigo, love makes you happy."

While he himself once would have not believed these words—having previously convinced himself that love was only a vehicle of despair—spending this time with Ichigo; getting to know her and becoming proper friends with her; he knew now that love—real love—brought joy. "Whether you get everything you want out of it or not, if what you feel for someone is really love, then you'll never have to worry about finding happiness. You'll just… have it."

It probably wasn't the most convincing speech, but Kish believed every word he'd said. After all, his life had never known such joy as he felt when he was with Ichigo. He didn't need anything more than this. He would gladly live out his life just the way it was.

"Just leave the complicated stuff for later, Kitten. I mean, there's nothing right now to suggest that humans and aliens can't have kids together. And even if they can't, wouldn't you still rather be with the guy you love and adopt or something than leave him to be with some other schmuck just because he can breed with you?"

Ichigo, who had been listening to him with near-rapt attention, screwed up her face in disgust and shoved his arm as if she were trying to push something smelly away from her. "Ew, Kish. That's vulgar."

"It's science," he corrected. "And it's what you're worried about."

"It is. But…" She stopped and shuddered. "Jeez, you don't need to make it sound like we're animals."

Kish smiled and shrugged. Ichigo probably wouldn't appreciate being reminded that they were, in fact, animals. He'd pushed his luck enough this evening.

Ichigo yawned again and stood from the couch. She looked around for her coat. Kish plucked it from the back of the couch and handed it to her.

"Thanks for coming, Kitty Cat," he told her softly as she pushed her arms into the sleeves. "I had a good time."

Ichigo awarded him with a smile as she fastened the clasps on the front of the winter garment. "I did too. You did a good job of hosting, for your first time." Her smile turned to a grin, then. "Better than your fancy schmoozing parties?"

Kish returned her grin. "Way better. The company makes all the difference." He gave her a playful wink.

"Good. 'Cause we'll be back."

"I hope you will be."

Kish saw Ichigo to the door where they said their farewells. Ichigo promised again to bring the girls back for another get together sometime in the near future. Kish stood at the door and watched her the whole way until she disappeared behind the neighbor's stone wall.

It had been a wonderful evening. The kind of evening that Kish could never have conceived of back on his own planet.

The first of many such evenings, he reminded himself, if he were to stay here on Earth.

His eyes narrowed as he continued to peer into the darkness. His face lifted to the sky where only a few stars were visible due to Tokyo's massive amount of light pollution. Thousands of lightyears away, his planet hung in the cold depths of space, waiting for him to return. The elders were doubtless looking for him already. They would find him soon and drag him back. He had responsibilities. People who demanded his guidance.

A farce, in truth. His guidance was worth less than the sand that comprised the vast wastes that spanned his planet's surface. The elders wanted a figurehead, and he was convenient. That was all there was to it. Whether he was there or not, the council would continue to rule as they always had. They'd been perfectly happy to forsake him when that had been convenient. He didn't owe them anything.

His fingers curled into fists as he continued to gaze up into the infinite darkness that spread above him. No, he didn't owe anyone anything. He'd done enough already. The elders could find someone else to puppet before the people. This happiness he'd found on Earth was worth fighting for. Even if it meant being cast out for good, he was willing to fight the council for his freedom.

He turned his gaze from the sky to look back at the house. If he was going to stay long term, he might need to consider finding a more permanent place of residence. This would continue to work for now, but there was no guarantee that the family who owned this house would stay gone forever.

Well, whatever. He'd worry about that if and when the time came. It's not like he was trackable even if the real owners came back and figured out someone had been living here. In the meantime, he'd start saving some money from his paychecks so he'd have a pool to draw from if he ever needed to find a new place quickly. It was like Ichigo had said, if he was going to live here long term, he needed to do it honestly.

Of its own accord, a grin stretched across his face. His heart felt suddenly very light. It was as if making the decision to stay had removed a huge burden from his shoulders. Sure, fighting the council wasn't going to be easy, but this was what he wanted. He'd never been more sure of anything in his life.

For Ichigo, and for his own happiness, he would do anything. He would do whatever it took to make this dream he'd been living his permanent reality.


End file.
